Fairy Tail High
by Shedauwz
Summary: Highschool. Both Erza and Natsu have pasts that gnaw at them as nightmares but only attract them to each other even more. What happens when the said times come back to haunt them? AU and might be a bit OOC - You've been warned.
1. Natsu

**Yo!  
This is my very first story ever created. Hell, It's the first time I've ever created anything.**  
**I've no idea how many chapters this will have, or how it will turn out. I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.**  
**I hope to keep writing this, even though It's probably no good. I'm interested how much time It'll take for me to get bored of this.**  
**Well, anyways, enjoy~! :D**

* * *

**Fairy Tail High**

**By Shedauwz**

**Chapter one: Natsu**

It was a dark day for Fiore. The dark wizard Zeref attacked the mage guild Fairy Tail, consequentially, the town in which the guild resided, Magnolia, was all but destroyed.

The guild known as Fairy Tail has always harbored many strong mages, but none strong enough to take on the strongest dark mage that has ever walked Earthland. Fairy Tail was down to its last team.

The team known as Team Natsu. The team that was considered to be the strongest one in Fairy Tail, and probably in all of Fiore. Its leader, Natsu Dragneel, the young Fire Dragon Slayer was the only one left to oppose Zeref. With All of his teammates down, Natsu was enraged. Enraged to the point in which he has never been before. His surge in power might have been the cause of two things: either the Flame of Rage, which has shown itself before on several occasions, or his love for his guild, his friends, his unconditional need to protect every one of them.

Natsu was standing his ground against Zeref.

-"Natsu.. Stop this."-pleaded Zeref-"You can't win, I don't want to see you suffer any more.."- The Dark Mage said with a sad expression on his face.

-"Don't give me that crap!"-Natsu yelled,-"You destroy our city, our guild, you harm our friends.. OUR FAMILY! And you dare tell me to give up?"

-"I've got news for you, scum. You're not leaving this city alive"-stated Natsu, with a dark glare.

The flame in Natsu's right hand light up a bright golden as he was ready to attack the Dark Mage.

-"I'm sorry it had to come to this Natsu.. I really am. But there was no other choice. To save Earthland, and to achieve the "One Magic", the strongest guild in Fiore must perish.."-said Zeref, as he started to cry at the thought of killing more innocent people.

-"SHUT UP!"-roared Natsu.

He lunged at the Dark Mage. Dragon scales appeared on the young Dragon Slayer's face and arms and an Image of a fire dragon, Igneel, his father, behind him.

-"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!"

He woke up. It took a while for him to come back to his senses, but Natsu noticed that he fell out of his bed.

-"A dream, huh?"-said the young seventeen-year-old.

He looked at the alarm clock, which was on his desk near his bed. It was 5.20 in the morning.

-"It's this early?"-Natsu yawned,-"No point in getting back to bed when my head's hurting this much"-he said as he held his head,-"Damn dreams, making me this excited"-he laughed.

The young pink haired boy slowly got up. His head was twitching from the pain of falling off of his bed, but it was bearable.

As he stood up, he noticed he got a message on his phone.

-"Now who could this be from..?"-he wondered.

It was from Gray Fullbuster, his classmate, his best friend, and his rival in everything possible.

Natsu sighed-"What does that jerk want now..?"

The message said:"Happy new school year, asshole"

Natsu sighed again, and then gave a weak, but sure smile.

"Summer's passed already, huh? It's been three months, and I've actually missed the bastard.. Who would've thought."- he laughed.

Yes. It's the first of September. Natsu's starting his second year of highschool. -"Another annoying year of being yelled at by the teachers.."-he growled,-"So annoying!"

Natsu actually loved school, because it's a place where his friends are, and where he could feel safe without a second thought. Even when times were darkest, he never felt sad while he was with them, that's the bond they shared.

The boy has been living alone since he was seven. His father, Igneel Dragneel, had left him for no apparent reason, and Natsu has been trying to find him ever since. His highschool principal, Makarov Dreyar has been taking care of him, supplying him with a place to live and a weekly allowance, though Natsu never understood where Makarov got his money from.

Natsu put down his phone and slowly wobbled out of his room to the bathroom. He looked at himself through the mirror,-"Seems like I'm getting older."-He thought.

He really was getting older, though he wasn't really surprised, he's seventeen already. -"Everyone has to grow up sometime, right?-he thought.

Natsu had a slim, muscular figure. One would think that he was weak, but ever since childhood, Natsu has been surprisingly strong and agile, with more stamina than he bargained for. He was always good in sports, and that was one of the things that Gray had trouble in when competing with Natsu.

The pink haired boy took a quick shower and went to make himself something to eat.

The Dragneel home was home only to Natsu. The thought often made him sad. He wondered what his mother was like, but he never knew her. He'd remember his father saying that she died while giving birth to him, and he would describe her as a strong, independent woman, who would always try to reach her goal, no matter the obstacles she faced, one of the traits Natsu had inherited.

Natsu's father, Igneel, was a family man. As far as he could remember, Igneel would always care for Natsu. His father taught him how to write, he shaped him into the man he is today. Even though his father left him, he would always remember him when he would be in a pinch, and he would always think: "What would dad do..?"-that alone is enough to show the feelings the young boy harbors for the man.

But even though Natsu lives alone, he knows how to take care of himself.

-"Shit, I forgot to go to the convenience store yesterday.."-exclaimed Natsu-"Fried eggs again.. ugh, I'm getting sick of this."

He noticed his laptop was on the kitchen table.-"Oh right, I did leave it there yesterday"-he thought.

While eating his breakfast, Natsu was watching an anime called Death Note on his laptop, an anime Lucy, his classmate, recommended, but Natsu couldn't understand half of what was going on there, even though he did find it interesting.

Natsu looked at the clock, it was 7.20 already.

-"Guess I have to get ready.."- he sighed.

He quickly put on his uniform, took his headphones and left his home. To start a new year at Fairy Tail High.

-"Oh joy"-he said, sarcastically, but his mood quickly changed when the music from his headphones kicked in.

* * *

**Yes, I know, this looks boring and the story is progressing quite slow, but interesting stuff will happen, honest! Atleast I hope they're interesting D:**

**Back to the point. I've already finished the second chapter, but I'll only publish it when I'm done with the third and maybe fourth one. And it depends on the reviews too, if I get any that is.  
Tell me what you think :3  
**


	2. First Day of School

**I couldn't bear to wait and so I thought I should publish the second chapter. Hope you guys like it.  
And I've stopped using the -'s cause they're sooooo annoying to type in every single time there's a dialog going on.  
Anyway, enjoy.  
**

* * *

It was a nice day in Magnolia city. The sun was shining, and the feeling of summer was still left in the air. To Natsu's surprise, it wasn't raining, when almost every first day of school was met with a shower of rain.

Natsu was slowly walking down the path he usually takes when going to school. He was still hoping he wouldn't meet with Gray, which he almost always did, because Gray didn't live far from where Natsu did. He honestly did enjoy walking with his friend to school, because they would always talk about the most random of topics, girls included.

Surely enough, there was Gray. He was standing near his house as if waiting for someone.

"Please don't tell me you've been waiting for me" said the annoyed Natsu while turning off the music from his phone.

"What do you think? Why would I ever wait for you, dumbass. It's you who's always following me around" replied the dark-blue haired teen.

"I do NOT!" shouted the angry Natsu, "Well, then if not me, WHO are you waiting for?-he asked, curiously.

"None of your business" stated Gray "What have you been listening to?" he asked when he noticed his headphones, "Dustin Beaver again?" he mocked Natsu.

"Where the hell did you get that idea from?" asked the surprised yet irritated Natsu, "You're the one who's always listening to Driftey Smears" he started laughing. He remembered the time when they were at Gray's place and Lucy was listening to Smears on Gray's computer.

By this point Gray was starting to get angry: "You wanna go, bitch?"

"Bring it!" replied Natsu, happy that he finally got his friend pissed.

"Hey! Stop it!" shouted a familiar female voice, "It's not nice to fight, Natsu."

It was Juvia, "You finally decided to show up" said Gray while receiving a kiss on the cheek from her, "Thank you for waiting for me, lover" said the excited Juvia, happily, though Natsu was resisting the urge to facepalm, "Hello to you too, Natsu." she smiled.

"Aye" he replied, depressed by the fact that Gray had found a girlfriend before him."Damn the bastard" he thought, "Let's go or we'll be late"

And so they started to make their way to school. Juvia and Gray were chitchatting about everything, including Natsu, which made him even more pissed off.

* * *

They finally arrived. The three were standing right near the school entrance.  
-"Another year, huh?"-Gray said with a sort of nostalgic voice.

"Oh shut up, you're sounding like an old guy" Natsu taunted him, though Gray ignored the comment.

"Let's make a lot of good memories this year, too!" said Juvia, excited by the thought of spending another year with Gray and the others as classmates.

"Aye" replied both Gray and Natsu.

A few moments later, they were in their classroom greeting all of their friends. A blond girl came up to Natsu: "Hey, long time no see," she smiled.

It was Lucy, one of Natsu's best friends. Natsu had a hunch that she like him, but always brushed it off as if it was only his imagination.

He never did think of Lucy as anything more than a friend. "Hey, Luce," they hugged, "Yeah, it has been a while" he smiled, happy by finally being reunited with his dear friend.

"How was your summer?" she asked.

"Working for the old geezer, damn he's a slave driver!" he exclaimed, "sometimes he'd ask me to not only do the work during the day, but the night shift too.. Though I did make a lot of money."

"Good to hear" she replied, happily, "where were you working anyway?"

"He owns a hotel outside of town. A small but nice place out in the middle of nowhere." he said with a smile on his face.

Lucy remembers Natsu saying that when he finishes his studies he'd like to have a small house in a peaceful place somewhere out of the city where's it's nice and quiet.

Before she could reply, their homeroom teacher, Gildarts Clive, entered the class: "Get to your seats."

"See you after homeroom" Lucy said.

"Aye" Natsu smiled.

After everyone got to their seats, Gildarts continued: "Another year of school, huh. I hope you guys will at least try put in a bit more effort in your studies this year, especially you, Natsu."

Natsu wasn't the brightest of students. He would always forget to study for his exams, or so he said, that's why he's always gotten the lowest scores in tests.

"Oh shut up, old ma-" before he even finished his sentence, a book came flying straight for Natsu and hit his forehead, "Ouch, damn it!" he grunted.

"What did you call me..?" Asked Gildarts, with an evil smile and a dark aura around him, patting his ruler against his hand. Seems like he's been waiting to punish Natsu for whatever reason for some time now.

"An old gee-" The ruler met with Natsu's pink head, "Damn it, that hurts old man!"

The whole class was laughing. By this point Gray was bursting into tears from laughing too much.

* * *

Homeroom was finally over. Natsu decided to go to the roof of the school for a breath of fresh air. While there, he noticed that he had a pack of cigarettes in his shirt's pocket and a lighter. He was tempted to smoke, but thought "Why the hell did I even quit if I get tempted to smoke again?" and brushed the thought of it off, though he didn't throw the pack out.

While on the roof he noticed a red haired girl sitting outside on a bench below a tree. Natsu was surprised by how beautiful she was, never in his life has he seen such a beautiful person. She had long red hair and she had a bit of make-up on. Not too much, but just the right amount. Her uniform collar was blue, a sign that she was a third-year. Natsu's was brown.

Natsu never could understand the mood of a person by looking at them, but this time he could clearly see that the girl looked sad. "Her boyfriend, probably"- he thought.

The girl suddenly looked up to see Natsu looking at her from the school's roof. He blushed and looked away, surprised that she noticed him. She tried to make out who he was, but she didn't know him. The girl then smiled and turned her head down, eyes closed. It looked like she was sleeping to him, but she wasn't, she was enjoying this moment of peace and quiet, with a person she didn't know and with whom she was close but yet far apart. Natsu thought the same. This wouldn't be the last time they enjoyed each other's company like this. He would always want to see that girl. That girl who he would later know as Erza Scarlet.

* * *

**Hope the ending's not too cheesy.. :3  
****And yeah, I've started using those lines when some sort of action line ends. Action line.. sounds so dumb. I dunno how to put it in english, sorry.  
****AND I've been reading other people's work, and I gotta say, compared to mine, mine sucks. Like REALLY sucks. Well, I hope I get there someday. Bear with me while I improve please. :D**


	3. Erza

**Here's another one. I've got all of these ideas in my head, the only thing that's left is finding the words to express them all, which is a pain in the butt.  
Enjoy.**

* * *

It was early morning, you could tell by the beautiful sunrise, which illuminated Erza's scarlet color hair.

She was sleeping on her desk. She exhausted herself the day before, what with all the preparations for today.

It hit 6.00 AM and her alarm clock went off, waking her from deep sleep. She grunted uncomfortably as she turned it off, finally noticing that she wasn't sleeping in her bed.

She then let out a tired sigh as she slowly stood up from her chair, "I must get ready for-" she fell to her knees, grasping her chair with one hand, her vision getting blurry, "I'm fine, I can't afford to be tired on a day like today.. " she muttered.

Today was the first of September, the first day of school and Erza was the student council president of Fairy Tail High. That was one of the reasons why Erza hadn't had much sleep these past few weeks. She could only work on schoolwork in the evenings and through the night, reasons for that being her part-time job and art school. Erza was always good at drawing, all of her teachers were really impressed by her and always praised her when they got the chance. She was good at her studies, too. Always the top scorer on every exam, just so she could fulfill her dream to enter a university to study arts and make a living out of it.

Though Erza's last art school exam was last week and she graduated with the highest scores, and she wasn't allowed to have a part-time job anymore because it would intrude on her study time, she would be able to sleep and rest properly from now on. Or so she thought..

She stood up to notice she still had a photo of her and her ex-boyfriend. "We looked so happy back then" She thought as she flipped it over. Erza started thinking back on past times: "We really WERE happy back then, he was the perfect person to have by one's side, until he started.." she shook her head, she didn't even want to think about it.

Erza brushed off those nostalgic, yet painful memories and slowly went to get ready for school.

* * *

As she got out of the bathroom, ready to head for school, Erza noticed breakfast was prepared for her, even though she wasn't even going to make herself anything. "Must've been grandma"- she said to herself with a smile on her face.

Erza has been living with her grandmother ever since she was three. Her parents died in a car accident, so even she can't remember them, but Erza still wishes to know more about her parents. Her grandmother never spoke of them and Erza didn't pursue the thought, even though she wanted to.

Life with her grandmother wasn't bad. She had a roof over her head, warm food, clothes and a caring parent who would always listen to her troubles. She loved her grandmother from the bottom of her heart.

They did have problems with money though. Erza's grandmother couldn't work because she was too old, and it was hard nowadays for two people to live out of one person's pension, that was why the eighteen-year-old had to work whenever she could.

"Fried eggs," she looked at the plate while sitting down and getting ready to eat "Thank you, grandma"

As Erza finished eating, she washed her plate, and placed it on the table. "Im off" She said to herself, and to her home.

* * *

Erza had to come to school earlier. As she checked her phone it was 7.10 when she entered the building. She went to the teacher's lounge.

"Mornin' Erza!" greeted her a familiar voice.

Erza turned around to notice it was Gildarts calling her name. "Oh, good morning, teacher" she said while smiling.

"You don't have to be so formal around me Erza" he said while scratching the back of his head and giving her an unsure laugh.

"Yes I do, I'm the student council president, it's my duty to show an example to the other students" she said, somehow Gildarts knew she would say that.

"Erza.. you need to lighten up a bit, you're too stiff, you need to-" he stopped talking immediately after noticing that she had raised a fist and she was trying to hide her irritation.

"Yes, I understand, TEACHER," she noted the word "but could you please state your business with me?" Erza said, annoyed at Gildarts's comment.

The middle-aged teacher raised his hands in defense "Okay okay, I got it!" he laughed "The principal wanted to see you."

"The principal? What for?" she asked, surprised. Today was already planned out, so there was no reason for him to call her.

"No idea" admitted Gildarts "Probably about the after-school clubs. You haven't sorted that issue yet, have you?"

"I did, yesterday" replied Erza.

Gildarts sighed "She was probably working all night yesterday too" he thought. "Well, anyway, the principle's waiting. Go on"

She turned around and started walking to the principle's office, when she remembered something:"How's your student?" she asked.

"Which one? Natsu?" he replied, surprised by her interest.

"Yeah, that one"

"I honestly don't know" Gildarts answered "I heard he was working for the principal during the summer, maybe that pounded some sense into the kid" he went on "but I doubt he'll show up today" he let out a long and tiresome sigh.

"Don't worry, he will" said Erza reassuringly with a smile on her face.

Gildarts smiled: "I hope so, I hope so"

As she walked in to the principle's office, she remember the conversation she had with Gildarts about Natsu. Apparently, Natsu didn't attend more than half of his lessons last year. Normally he would've been kicked out of the school, but because of the strong fatherly feelings both Gildarts and the principal harbor for the boy, he was allowed to stay on the condition that he started to attend his lessons.

Between her school-work and Natsu's bad attendance, she has never seen him before, but she knows how he looks. As Gildarts described him, he had pointy pink hair, black eyes. He would never wear his uniform's jacket and would always have his headphones on. "I'd teach him a lesson if I ever met him" she thought while giving a quiet laugh.

* * *

After a good twenty minutes Erza came out of principal Dreyar's office, looking even more tired. "He doesn't want to, but he HAS to tell me to help the first years find their homeroom classes, huh.." she thought while yawning.

She made her way to the second floor where the first year's classes were supposed to be. No one was there, "Everyone's probably inside the classrooms already" she muttered to herself quietly.

"Excuse me" she heard a young voice behind her and turned around to see who it was. It was a boy with dark-blue hair, his uniform's collar's color was yellow, indicating that he was a first year, "I'm lost, where could I find 1a's classroom? he asked, politely.

"Oh" Erza went in to her thoughts, "1a.. right there, the third door down the hall" she replied while pointing her finger towards the classroom.

"Thank you!" he said happily and went to his classroom. As he opened the door, she heard: "There you are, Romeo, did you get lost.." the door closed. Erza had a faint smile on her face.

"Erza!" she heard a familiar voice. She turned around to see a girl with long white hair and blue eyes, "Mira!" she replied to Mirajane "Shouldn't you be in class?" Erza asked.

"I should, but the principal's asked me to come help you with the first years" she said.

"There's nothing to help though, all of them are in their classrooms already" she replied, while yawning.

"Even if they are, I'll stay here, go get some rest Erza, I bet you still have loads of work to do today" ordered Mirajane, worriedly.

She didn't. Oddly enough, today she didn't have any work planned, but as Mirajane is lending a helping hand, "why not take her up on her offer and get some rest?" she thought.

"Thanks, Mira" Erza replied "I'll be outside if you need me"

The white haired girl nodded and Erza made her way out to get some fresh air.

* * *

She sat on a bench below a tree. "I met him here.." she thought, but she was too tired to move to another place, and she didn't want to. It was a nice place, you could easily see most of the school yard from here, and the oak tree was a great protector from the hot sun.

Again, Erza was lost in thought. She remembered both last year and the year before that, she remembered how happy and full of energy she was, but now she's feeling like an old woman, tired and sad. Eventually, she fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, Erza felt this warm feeling in her stomach, as if some fire inside of her was trying to lit itself up again. She woke up, and noticed someone was looking at her. She looked up towards the roof, but she couldn't make out who it was because she was still sleepy. The only thing she could notice was the color of the person's hair - pink.

She felt the embrace of the warm feeling as she slowly turned her head away, closing her eyes and slowly drifting to sleep. She liked this feeling, and she would want to feel it again, but she would have never thought that this person who was looking at her, Natsu Dragneel, would soon change her life.

* * *

**Yosh! Here's the third chapter of Fairy Tail High! Hope you liked it.**

**I hope it's not that obvious who Erza's ex-boyfriend is :3  
Oh on a side note: I'm naming the classes as it would be named in european gymnasiums or highschools or w/e. From A to C; For example: 1a;1b;1c;2a and so on.**


	4. A Dream and a Meeting

**Here's the fourth chapter, I think I did a better job on this one. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Bastard..!" he swung his bat "YOU DAMN BASTARD!" the boy yelled.

"No.. please..no more!" a man, beaten and broken was laying on the ground. He couldn't move because of the pain, his shoulder and legs were broken and his clothes bloody, "PLEASE! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry.." he started crying.

"You're sorry?" he asked while lifting up the bloody bat "YOU DON'T GET TO BE SORRY!" he yelled, as he swung down.

* * *

Natsu woke up with cold sweat. He was breathing heavily and he noticed his hands were shaking. He looked around "good, the class didn't seem to notice me" he thought with relief.

He stood up, his hair covering his eyes: "Teacher, can I be excused?"

"What's wrong?" Gildarts looked surprised and worried.

"Nothing, I just need to go to the toilet" he replied. The teacher nodded and Natsu left the class. "Another dream, huh..?" Gildarts wondered as the boy left the room.

He was making his way to the school roof "That's the only place I can properly relax.." he thought as he put on his headphones.

On the roof, he went to the same side as he always did. He was hoping the same scarlet haired girl would be there to keep him company, but she wasn't. "Why would she be here" he thought "it's the middle of the lesson.." he muttered. It's been two weeks since they saw each other for the first time, and every day after that, they'd enjoy each other's company from afar. Natsu noticed, that every time when the fourth lesson ended and when the break was longest, she'd go there.

But this time she wasn't there, even though Natsu wasn't surprised, he could barely hold his tears in.

He fell to his knees, one arm on the rail and the other on his eyes "Damn it.." he said as tears started running down his cheeks.

"Natsu.." he felt an arm on his shoulder. He started wiping off the tears from his eyes, he turned around, it was Gray. "Same dream?" he asked, Natsu nodded.

"Here, come on, let's get some coffee" he said as he helped him up and slowly started walking towards the exit, Natsu followed.

Natsu sat down near the school canteen where the coffee machine was. Gray went to get some coffee, "You can't beat yourself up for what happened forever, you know" Gray said, with a sad tone in his voice.

"I can't?" Natsu was taken aback "I have to, I did k-" he was interrupted by Gray, who was handing him the coffee.

"Yes." Gray started talking "You did. But the guy deserved it." He paused, then sighed: "I'm not saying that what you did was right, it wasn't." he sipped some coffee "but what happened, happened, you can't change it," he continued, "and beating yourself up for the rest of your life won't help neither you nor your friends" he said, the concern in his voice was too obvious.

Hearing those words, Natsu couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved. His friends cared for him, and that was all he needed to get through the day. "Thanks" he said while smiling faintly.

"Anytime, pinky"

"Oh shut up" he said as they both shared a laugh.

After a few minutes of silence: "Alright, let's go back to class, or the old man will kick both our asses" Gray said, smiling.

"Aye" Natsu quietly laughed.

* * *

Erza was walking down the hall. It was apparent that she was mad, really mad. Some first years were chatting outside their classrooms, she glared at them: "Get back to your classrooms!" she said, with a sort of killing intent. The kids got so scared they couldn't even move.

"I said, GET BACK TO YOUR CLASSROOMS!" She yelled, then they vanished so fast she didn't even see them.

Erza continued to storm down the hall as if nothing happened, fumes coming out of her head. She slammed the door to the student council room open, scaring everyone inside "What's wrong?" she asked while entering, "get back to work" then ordered, everyone complied.

"You should ask her what happened before she kills us all, Mira" asked her Loki. Mirajane sighed:"Fine, but If I die, I'm going to haunt you." she said with a dark glare. "She's scary too" Loki thought, as he averted his eyes from the mayhem that was about to happen.

"What did the principal say, Erza?" she asked, trying as hard as she could to not look frightened by the mighty Erza.

"Too many fights in the school grounds, he said, the grades of students are too low, he said." As she continued, Mira became more and more scared for her life, "The school is a disgrace to the Dreyar name, he said." Her eyes were glowing red, her fingers scratching the table, her mad grin was enough to scare even the birds chirping outside.

"Are you going to do anything about it?" asked Mira. She shouldn't have asked that.

"Will I do anything about it?" Erza repeated the question which she thought was a challenge, "What the hell do you think?" She stood up, slammed her fist on the table and started yelling: "Get this across through everyone, if you ever dare to get in to a fight, make sure you die, cause if you don't, I'm going to hunt you down and kill you myself!"

Mira's eyes were wide open. She couldn't move from the fear that this demon, the Titania of Fairy Tail High would unintentionally kill her with her aura alone.

"I think everyone heard you already" said Loki.

"What was that?" Erza glared

"Nothing, I'm sorry, I didn't say anything!" he pleaded for his life.

"hmpf" she left the room.

"I wonder what's going to happen to Natsu.." thought Mira, once she regained her senses.

* * *

It was gym time. The boys were playing football. Both Natsu and Gray were part of the same team as attackers. It was 2-2 with thirty seconds left until the match was over.

Natsu and Gray were attacking. Never has anyone seen them so in sync with each other. Gray was with the ball, but Alzack was standing in his way, and to Natsu's knowledge, he was a good tackler. "Pass it here, Gray!" he yelled, and so he did.

The pass went over Alzack, Natsu stopped the ball with his chest and started running towards the goal. Elfman was the goalkeeper.

"Eat this!" Natsu roared as he kicked the ball. Elfman tried catching it, but it was just too fast and went right through him. The ball entered the net, and immediately after that the whistle was blown. They won.

"SHIT!" Elfman cursed, "that was not manly at all!"

"Get over it!" said Natsu with a mischievous grin, "You never had a chance" added Gray as he and Natsu fist-bumped.

"Alright, shitheads" yelled the gym teacher, Laxus Dreyar "get some rest, I'll be back in five minutes" he said as he left.

As Laxus left, Elfman turned to Natsu: "Natsu!" he yelled "Fight me!"

Natsu's eyes widened. He was genuinely surprised. Even though Elfman was three times his size, he wouldn't just go in to a fight out of the blue. Especially with him. He looked at Gray, his face was looking serious. Natsu sighed:

"You told him, didn't you?" he asked.

"You know I had to" replied Gray.

"Yeah.." said Natsu with a sad expression on his face "Well come at me then, Elfman!" he said as he turned back to the large guy in front of him, his expression changing.

As he heard those words, Elfman charged at Natsu, swinging his fist at his face. Natsu dodged. It wasn't surprising that Elfman would have a hard time fighting with Natsu, because he was so much smaller than him, and in turn faster.

Elfman tried landing another hit, but that one was dodged too, Natsu went under him and tried an uppercut, which the big guy barely blocked.

Elfman stepped back a bit, "Damn, that hurt", he thought as he was rubbing his arms, "He's not called the Salamander of Magnolia for nothing" he muttered to himself as he charged again.

"You know you can't win, Elfman" said Natsu, already irritated by Elfman's futile attempts. He charged the big guy head on. Elfman tried another punch, but Natsu would have none of that, he easily pushed his fist away, jumped to his head's height, and landed a kick directly on Elfman's face. Elfman was sent flying a few feet back.

Elfman was laying on the ground, his vision blurry "I can't lose now!" he thought as he slowly got up. Natsu's face changed, he became annoyed at how he was still trying to fight even though his chances of winning slimmed to nothing. "ELFMAN!" he shouted as he charged at him.

Suddenly, Natsu remembered his dream and a girl with blue eyes and white hair. His eyes widened. He smiled, as he closed them and was still running towards Elfman, his fists weren't up.

Elfman punched Natsu in the stomach, so hard that Natsu spit out blood. He grabbed him by the throat and backed him to the ground, pounding him on the face.

"Natsu!" yelled Lucy, but Gray stopped her: "What are you doing, Gray? Aren't you his friend? Stop thi-" he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Have you ever heard of The Salamander of Magnolia?" he asked her. She nodded. "Well that's him right there, getting beat up by the guy with the softest heart in all of FT High." he smiled, "He'll be alright, don't worry so much."

Elfman stood up. He said, panting: "You had enough yet?"

Natsu was smiling: "That all you got, big guy?" blood oozing out of his eyebrow on to his eye. Elfman smiled and gave him a hand. Natsu took it, and Elfman helped him up.

"Look, Natsu, don't beat yourself up over what happened, it wasn't your fault" he said.

"Yeah, I know, Gray already had this conversation with me" he laughed, "but thanks, I needed a good fight" he smiled.

Elfman nodded as he helped him on to a bench.

"Natsu, we need to get you to the infirmary, NOW!" Lucy exclaimed as she saw the blood on Natsu's eye.

"Lucy.. I'm fine" Natsu said calmly.

"I SAID NOW!" She yelled.

"Aye sir!" Natsu said, scared out of his mind.

"She's sometimes even scarier than my sisters classmate, Erza" Elfman muttered to himself.

* * *

"Erza!" yelled Cana as she entered the council room.

"What happened?" asked Erza, surprised.

"There's been a fight" she replied.

"A fight, you say..?" Erza asked, slowly getting up from her desk, her aura of darkness was so visible, that it darkened the whole council room, "Where are the perpetrators?" she yelled.

"One of them is in the infirmary, the other.." she didn't even get to finish her sentence as Erza stormed to the infirmary.

"Who's at the infirmary?" asked Mira, concerned for that person's well being after Erza is done with them.

"Natsu." She said, laughing, "Oh he's going to get it now."

"I thought so" Mirajane sighed, "Natsu, brace yourself.." she prayed.

* * *

Natsu touched his eyebrow "Ouch! Damn this hurts" he exclaimed.

He was buttoning his shirt when the Infirmaries door slammed open. "SHOW YOURSELF YOU-" he heard a woman's yell.

Natsu replied, irritated: "Can't a guy even get dressed in pea-" his sentence was cut off when he turned his head to see a girl with raid hair looking at him, blushing.

Natsu's eyes widened, he blushed, "she's the same girl.." he thought.

"Hi, I'm Natsu" he said with a smile on his face.

"E-Erza.." she replied, shyly.

Then she remembered.

"Wait, Natsu. Your eyebrow and stomach are bandaged, did you get in to a fight..?" She asked, with an evil aura around her.

Natsu instantly figured out what was going to happen. In short - nothing good.

"No-" he was smacked on the head.

"No fighting in the school!" she yelled "Scratch that, no fighting at all!" she yelled again as she kept smacking him.

"Scary!" Natsu said.

"What did you say?" Erza asked while she kept smacking him.

"Nothing! Ouch! Stop it, that hurts, you hag!" Natsu exclaimed.

"What did you call me..? she asked as she punched him in the face.

"Nothing! Nothing! I'm sorry!" he yelled.

"They're really going at it in there" said Gray, outside of the infirmary, fearing for Natsu's life.

"Aye" both Elfman and Lucy replied.

* * *

**Ugh.. I'm bad at combat scenes D:  
****But there you go, they finally met! Hope you enjoyed it! And a thank you for the people who are actually reading and reviewing this, your help is really appreciated :)**


	5. Punishment

Natsu let out a long, tiresome sigh, "Come on, can't I rest at least for a little while?"

"No" replied the redhead "This is your punishment for fighting" she said, coldly.

"You do realize my head still hurts, right?" he protested.

"Oh stop whining, would you?" Erza said while rolling her eyes, unamused.

"Ugh.. fine." he replied, reluctantly, but he knew if he talked back any more he would get smacked again.

Erza made Natsu help her with the student council work. It was mainly carrying paperwork around and making tea for her, but Natsu was tired as hell and his head was still pounding from getting smacked around by Elfman and Erza.

"Would you mind going to the teacher's lounge to make some copies of these?" she asked Natsu as she gave him fifty pages of first-year kids profiles._ 'Of course I would mind! What the fuck do you think?'_ he thought, but before he could reply, she continued "Oh wait, I don't care. MOVE IT!"

Natsu sighed as he took the papers from her "Fine, fine" he muttered. He thought that if he resisted her less, she would back off.

_'She's even more of a slave driver than the old geezer is!'_he thought while walking to the teacher's lounge.

* * *

As he got back twenty minutes later, he saw Erza waiting for him, impatiently. It was evident that she was irritated._ 'Not again..'_ he thought.

"What took you so long?" she asked while bumping her finger against the desk.

"My head started hurting again so I went to the infirmary to get some medicine" he lied. He was just too lazy to put any effort in to his task. "Am I-" he was interrupted by another one of her orders: "Doesn't matter, make me some tea" she said, calmly while crossing her arms and leaning on her chair.

By this point Natsu had trouble containing his anger._ 'Really? TEA?'_ his eyebrow twitched as he thought, but he didn't protest, giving it his all to resist confronting her about his problem with her.

Natsu let out yet another long but quiet sigh._ 'I hope she didn't hear that..'_ he thought. It was obvious to him that Erza was enjoying this. She was smiling when looking at him, but when Natsu would turn to her side he would always be met with a glare, which ruined his mood even more.

"Here" he said, pushing the teacup on Erza's hands.

She took a sip, waited for the taste to sink in, then asked: "How much sugar did you put in it?"

"Two spoons" he replied.

"Did I ask for two spoons?" she asked again.

"You never asked for any!" Natsu was reaching his limit.

"Exactly, which meant I didn't want any" she said, unfazed by Natsu's fuming head "Make me another one, without sugar this time" she said as she put down the cup on the table.

For Natsu, that was the last straw. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he shouted as Mirajane entered the room: "First you smack me around like I'm some punching bag, then you tell me to do your stupid chores for you because you call this punishment? I'm not your goddamn slave!"

Erza was taken aback, Natsu was the second person who would ever dare talk back to her, "Yes, I do expect you to do this work for me!" she replied, using the same voice volume as Natsu did "And don't call them chores!" she added "This is important student council work!"

"Pfft..hahaha" Natsu laughed, mockingly "You call making tea for the "oh so great Titania" important council work?" he said, sarcastically. When he tried to say something again, he was smacked on the head yet again. "Ow!" he exclaimed "why the hell are you hitting me again?" he yelled while scratching the back of his head.

"Because you don't listen to me!" she shouted "This is your PUNISHMENT, so you will do what's required of you!" she gave him a glare, but Natsu wasn't about to let down.

Before Natsu could say anything, he was interrupted by Mirajane, who was present during the whole exchange: "You two sure look close" she said, unaware that that was the last thing the two wanted to hear.

"SHUT UP" both of them grunted while facing her.

Mirajane was petrified._ 'Erza's glare was enough to kill a person, but I never thought that Natsu could match up to her. Scary..'_ she thought.

"Ugh.." Natsu growled while walking towards the exit "I'm outta here" he said.

"Hey! What about the gym?" Erza asked him.

"I'll clean it tomorrow morning." he said as he closed the door to the council room.

As he was walking down the corridor, Natsu thought _'Who does she think she is? How can she order me around like a slave so nonchalantly?'_

After Natsu walked out, Erza thought _'Who does he think he is? Why the hell was he opposing me so much?_'

They both sighed, but then gave faint smiles and thought:

_'I'm glad I got to meet her though.'_

_'I'm glad I got to meet him though.'_

* * *

Natsu was already outside the school whe he noticed that a certain blondie was looking at him.

"Hey Luce," he greeted her "What's up? Who are you waiting for?" he asked.

"You, apparently" the girl replied, "Idiot."

"I see," he said again, unfazed by the name calling "What's wrong?"

"Gray told me," Lucy said as she started walking, Natsu followed.

"Told you what?" he asked, wondering what that dumbass said.

"About you and the Salamander" she answered, calmly.

Natsu sighed. He knew that she would find out sooner or later, but he had hoped it would be later. He thought of what he should reply, but nothing came to mind, Lucy just waited for him to start talking.

After a good five minutes, Natsu started: "Lucy, I-" he was interrupted by her raised hand

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone" she smiled "You're keeping this a secret from everyone for a reason, right?"

Natsu smiled, surprised that the nosy blond girl standing beside him didn't try to find out more, but he knew he could trust her "Well, obviously" he said, already happier "That asshole Salamander is a delinquent criminal!" They both shared a laugh.

Lucy didn't ask anything else regarding the topic, because she knew that if he tried to keep it a secret it was because it was a sensitive topic to him, and she cared enough for Natsu to not make him depressed.

"Oh," she remembered as they were close to Natsu's house, "How's your head?"

"I don't want to talk about it" he pouted

"We were worried the president was gonna kill you" she said, while giggling

Natsu sighed: "She almost did. That woman's the devil!" he exclaimed.

As they were at Natsu's house's door, they hugged goodbye and parted. Normally Natsu would've walked Lucy home, but he was just too tired to be bothered.

"I'm home!" he shouted as he entered the house. He saw on various TV shows and Animes that when people came back home they would say those words to let everyone in the house know that they were back. That was Natsu's way of trying to make himself believe that he wasn't alone, but every time he didn't get a reply it would get him depressed.

Natsu frowned, but he wasn't surprised, this was what was waiting for him every day. An empty house for an abandoned child.

He didn't even bother to get anything to eat. He was too tired. He went straight for the living room and fell on the couch, instantly fading into deep sleep.

"Ugh..." He muttered while sleeping "Ham.. Porkchop.. Bacon.." he started drooling.

* * *

The next morning Natsu woke up extra early, because he knew he had to keep his promise to clean the gym, cause if he didn't Erza might kill him. He shivered at the thought of how she would go about doing it.

After a good thirty minutes of wiping his own blood off of the gym's floor, Natsu made his way towards his first lesson._ 'English, huh?'_ he thought.

English was one of the two subjects that Natsu actually enjoyed, the other being Music.

He saw Erza in the corridor and he didn't know if he was happy to see her, or scared.

"Good morning" Erza said as he saw him, as if she didn't pound his head to almost certain death yesterday.

"Mornin'" he replied.

"Did you clean the gym?" she asked, with a sort of nice and polite tone, which Natsu was surprised to hear.

"Yeah," he said while walking passed her, "just finished."

"Okay, good." she said._ 'At least he's dependable'_ she thought as she looked at his backside while he made his way towards his lesson.

Natsu was taller than her, and his back was wide, a sign that he takes care of his body._ 'He's exercising, too'_ she thought with a smile.

Natsu turned his head around to look at her and noticed that she was looking at him. She blushed as he asked with a mischievous smile on his face: "You eying me?" he asked as he gave a silent laugh.

"S-Shut up and go to your lesson already!" she yelled, louder than she intended, everyone was looking at her "What are you looking at?"

Natsu laughed as he made his way to the classroom.

_'Damn him..'_she thought.

* * *

******Finally the chapter's finnished! \o/ Thanks for reading and reviewing these, it seriously means a lot.**  
**Though this one looks quite boring imo, sorry, I had a shortage of ideas D:  
And sorry I had to reupload this, a fail on my end T.T**


	6. A Cake and a Plan

**Time to lay off of the depressing stuff. Enjoy ^.^**

* * *

Juvia, Lucy, Natsu and Gray were all sitting on the school's roof eating lunch. Juvia had made her boyfriend, Gray a strawberry cake, (for no apparent reason) and they were all sharing it while chatting and laughing about the most random of things.

"Did you hear the song _"Cool guys don't look at explosions"_? asked Lucy.

"_Lonely Island's_?" asked Gray as he remembered the video.

"Yeah, the same one" Lucy laughed.

"This cake is amazing!" Natsu exclaimed as he was stuffing his mouth.

"Thank you, Natsu" Juvia smiled.

"It's still missing something though.." Gray wondered.

Juvia's eyes started tearing up "I'm sorry, my love, I'll make a new one..!" she said while trying to pry it off of Natsu and throw it away.

"No!" Gray exclaimed, "Not a something, a someone!" he corrected himself and Natsu already figured out what he was getting at.

"Be right back." he said as he stormed off leaving everyone surprised.

After about five minutes, they heard shouting from the staircase leading to the roof: "Let go of me, Natsu!" a female voice shouted, "I said let go!" as they heard a smack "Ow!" they heard Natsu "That hurt!"

"I'm back" he said while holding the sleeve of a certain student council president. "I remembered you liked strawberry cake, Erza!" he smiled as he saw her reaction to the strawberry.. _'wait, is she.. drooling?' _he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Dig in!" Juvia offered, and the girl complied, instantly grabbing the cake from Lucy and chewing it down.

Both Lucy and Juvia were surprised of Erza, but Natsu and Gray were only smiling, they knew that strawberry cake was her favorite sweet. Natsu sat down near Erza, "You like it?" he asked, with a smile on his face.

"It's delicious!" she answered, not even looking at him. They all shared a laugh, but Erza didn't even notice them as she was a bit preoccupied with her favorite dish.

After about a good ten seconds the cake was all gone. Lucy was at a loss for words.

"You full?" Natsu asked, while smiling again.

"Y-yeah, thanks.." she replied, shyly.

He bumped her on the shoulder "Anytime." he added with a grin on his face, which made her blush.

Gray noticed the exchange. _'Erza and Natsu, huh..?' _he thought and chuckled.

"I'm gonna go get some coffe" Natsu said as he stood up "Anyone want any?"

Lucy and Juvia both shook their head. "Latte" Erza requested, not even looking at him. Natsu sighed: "Anything else, princess?" he asked sarcastically. He was waiting for her reaction, but all he got was a punch on the leg.

"Fine fine, I get it!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the leg that got hit.

Everyone except Natsu and Erza started to laugh. "I'll come with you, or you'll forget the latte and get yourself killed." said Gray while standing up and meeting Erza's glare, _'Scary..' _he thought.

While walking down the stairs: "So, you and Erza?" asked Gray quietly so the girls didn't hear.

"Huh?" Natsu turned to him, he didn't hear it either.

Gray sighed, "Let's get a bit farther from the girls first" he said. Natsu just shrugged and kept going. _'Idiot' _Gray thought.

* * *

At the coffee machine, Natsu poured himself a Cappuccino and a Latte for Erza.

"So, you and Erza?" Gray asked again, waiting for his turn to order.

"What?" Natsu asked, surprised.

Gray facepalmed, "Please don't tell me you didn't hear this time either" he said as he put in some money in the machine.

"I did hear you," Natsu said as he tried to hold the two cups without burning his fingers, "I wish I didn't though" he added.

"Why? You two are just too obvious" he said with a chuckle.

"Obvious? What's obvious about us? That she's a demon and I'm her victim?" Natsu said with sigh and a frown on his face.

"That and how you two look at each other" stated Gray plainly, "You did try something, didn't you?"

"What? Why would I try anything?" he asked again, surprised.

Gray sighed, he was getting tired of this. "Come one man, it's already October" he continued "You've known each other for over a month now, It's evident that you like-"

Natsu stopped Gray there: "We're not like that, we're just friends. Or she's a demon and I'm her slave. In any case, I couldn't try anything even if I wanted to, she would probably kill me. And.." he stopped.

"And?" he asked, curiously.

"Lisanna.."

Gray sighed again, "Look, Natsu.." he started after a brief pause, "Lisanna's gone, alright? What happened to her doesn't mean that you should live alone for the rest of your life" he started lecturing Natsu.

"But.."

"No butts!" he smacked him on the head "Do you think, for one second, that Lisanna would want you to be unhappy?" he asked, seriously this time.

Natsu did think about it once. No, Lisanna wouldn't want him to be unhappy, it's the other way around. No matter what Natsu did to her, she wasn't the kind of person who would hate someone and curse him for the rest of his life.

"I guess you're right.." he sighed, "but this is Erza we're talking about!" he reminded him.

"So?" he asked, unfazed.

"Remember what I said before mentioning Lisanna?" he asked, bluntly.

He did. "She wouldn't-"

"She would." Natsu interrupted him.

Gray sighed, "Fine," he surrendered, "let's go back before the coffee gets cold.." he said, "or she really will kill you."

"Aye.." Natsu replied as he fastened his pace.

* * *

As the boys went to get some coffee, both Juvia and Lucy were interrogating Erza about Natsu.

"So, do you like him?" Lucy asked.

"Who?" Erza answered.

"Natsu." Juvia said what Lucy was about to, causing Erza to almost choke on the apple she was eating.

"Are you joking?" Erza asked as she regained her composure, "Who would like that lunatic..?" she said while blushing.

"You do like him!" both Lucy and Juvia said, making Erza even more uncomfortable.

"I don't!" she pouted, "And even if I did, he probably wouldn't think the same of me" she said.

"Oh I think he does" Juvia chuckled.

"He.. does?" she asked, surprised.

"Don't you think it's obvious?" Lucy asked the red haired girl, "The way he looks at you, he didn't even look at..." she suddenly stopped.

"Who?" Erza asked, suspiciously.

"His ex." Juvia said, noticing that Lucy couldn't find the right words.

"Well, I-" Erza was interrupted by Natsu, who held a cup of coffee above her.

"Here." he said, "Just as you requested, one latte" he said as she took the cup and he sat down near her.

The conversation with Juvia and Lucy made Erza feel uncomfortable and she moved away from Natsu a bit.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"N-nothing" she answered with a blush on her face.

Natsu looked suspicious. "What is it?" she asked, worried that he heard the conversation.

"Nothing." he said as he smiled at her, which made Erza blush even more.

_'And you said you didn't like her..'_ Gray thought as he sat down near his girlfriend, _'You obvious, lovestruck dumbass' _he chuckled.

* * *

When the break was over and they finished their coffee, they made their way to class. Gray stopped Lucy and pointed a finger towards Natsu and Erza who were both laughing at a joke Natsu cracked about cats.

"You noticed that?" he asked.

"Yup" she replied with a smile on her face.

"Juvia," he turned to his girlfriend, "go on to class, I need to talk to Lucy" he said.

"Okay, don't take too long or you'll be late" replied the blue haired girl as she kissed him and went towards the exit.

"What is it, Gray?" Lucy asked when Juvia was out of sight.

"I've got an idea." he stated with a mischievous smile on his face.

* * *

It was evening. Natsu was watching the new episode of _The_ _Online Gamer _on his laptop and was laughing his ass off: "Headshot biatch! You just got owned!" he repeated what Aaron said, "Damn, that line's a classic." he said to himself while laughing.

Suddenly, Natsu's phone was ringing. Natsu looked at his phone to find out who could be calling him this late, it was Gray.

He picked up: "Headshot biatch! You just got owned!" he yelled in to the phone.

"You watching online gamer again?" Asked the voice from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, new episode just came out." Natsu said, happily.

"Oh shit, I've got to watch that one. When did it came out?" he asked.

"Just now." the pink haired boy replied.

"Oh you're such a geek." Gray laughed.

"Says the one who's been playing _RuneScape _all week." he said as they both shared a laugh.

"No, but seriously" he started "What's up?"

"You free on Friday?" Gray asked.

"Maybe.." he answered, suspicious of what Gray was about to say, "why?"

"Loki invited me to shoot some pool at _Jeffrey's_" his friend said. _Jeffrey's _was a bar in the centre of town which had a few pool tables and a nice atmosphere to it, "And he told me to invite you."

"You do realize I'm still a minor, right?" Natsu pouted.

"But you look like you're an adult!" Gray said, sarcastically.

"Haha, make fun all you want." he said, "I'll be eighteen by January, so we'll see who's laughing then." he smiled.

"I wasn't even laughing, though." his friend noted.

"Doesn't matter."

Gray sighed: "Whatever, you coming or not?" he asked, impatiently.

Natsu took a few seconds to reply, _'It's been a long time since I've spent some quality time with the boys' _he thought, "Fine, I'll come" he answered, "Meet at the usual place at seven?" he asked.

"Yeah." Gray confirmed, "Anyways, that was all I wanted to say, now I got to go back to do math's homework or Gildarts'll kill me." he laughed

"Aye." Natsu laughed too, "Later." he said

"See ya."

Natsu put down the phone and continued to laugh while watching the same show.

* * *

Erza was blushing, because she was reading a book called _How to know if a Guy Likes You _by an author she couldn't recognize. She was surprised how much this person knew, not realizing that all of it was a load of.. her phone rang. It was Lucy.

"Hello, Lucy" she answered, politely.

"Hey, Erza," said Lucy "Whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Reading a book" she said, calmly.

"Really?" Lucy's eyes glistened, "What book?"

"Ho-" she paused, _'Wait, I can't tell her I've been reading this, it would embarrass me to no end' _she thought with a blush "-Hamlet" she said, worried that her friend might become suspicious.

"Haven't you read that one before though?" Lucy asked, curiosity was evident in her voice.

"I-I have, b-b-ut.." she was wondering what to say, _'Damn it Erza, snap out of it!' _she yelled at herself in her mind as she bit her tongue ".. but I really liked it, so I thought I should read it again."

"Oh," she said, "Okay." then laughed.

"What?" Erza asked, suspiciously.

"Nooooothing~" she teased and Erza's eyebrow twitched, "Anyway, Erza, do you have any plans on Friday?" she asked.

"Not that I know of, no." Erza replied.

"Me and Juvia are going to find something cute to buy for her brother, it's his birthday on Saturday" she said, "aaaaaaand I was wondering if you wanted to come too.." she said with a chuckle.

"I guess I could" she said, with the least bit of interest.

"Great!" Lucy said, she thought she should take what she could get, "I'll text you where we're meeting later, okay?"

"Yes, ok." she nodded.

"Bye" Lucy smiled.

"Bye."

Immediately after talking with Erza Lucy got a text from Gray:

_'Did it work?'_

_'Like a charm! You sure this idea's safe? I mean we ARE talking about Natsu and Erza here'_

_'Trust me, they'll thank us later'_

* * *

**Bit longer than usual, hope you like this one. And yeah, this is mostly dialogue, but things are going to get interesting in the next chapter :3**


	7. Blind Date and Belief

**I had a blast with this one. At first, I felt a bit bad writing the first few chapters, I felt like they were being forced or w/e, but now I felt so free writing this, it was weird even. Had loads of ideas this time around, actually, even listening to one song alone gave me an idea. :D  
****Haha, well anyway, enjoy. I made sure to make this one extra long. :3**

* * *

And there he was, sitting in a cafe together with the fearsome Titania of FT High. She was wearing tight blue jeans, black heels, and a white long-sleeved tee with a jacket on top which only reached to her belly and with a color to match her jeans - light blue. She had her hair tied to a pony tail which made the outfit look even better. In Natsu's eyes, she looked incredibly beautiful, even though this was her casual clothing, reason for that being that this was the first time that Natsu has seen her wear something other than the usual school's uniform. Her appearance was one of the reasons why Natsu couldn't keep his eyes off her, which is why the girl was blushing so madly, the color of her cheeks matched her hair perfectly. Erza was sitting still, stiff. Her hands were on her knees, pinching on them, trying not to lose her head.

Natsu gave a deep sigh, he was wearing white sneakers, black jeans and a black zippable hoodie, which was unzipped till his chest and a white tee was visible. His hoodie's sleeves were rolled up on his elbows and he had a red bracelet which had the words "Save the Kids" on his left arm. His white headphones were on his neck, still blasting rock music.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Erza turned her head to face the person sitting in front of her. When their eyes met, they both blushed again and turned away from each other.

_'This is so awkward..!'_ Natsu thought _'How the hell did I get myself in to this kind of situation anyway?' _he exclaimed in his mind.

**A few hours earlier..**

Natsu had just gotten out of the shower, steam was still coming out of the surface of his skin because of the hot water it was just buried in. As he made his way towards his room, he checked his phone. It was 6.25. Good, he still had some time. Their meeting place was a bridge which was considered an entrance to the city centre from where he was living. It

wasn't more than a ten minute walk from his house to there.

He opened his closet to look for anything proper he could wear. He noticed his black jeans, _'It's been a while since I last wore these' _he thought as he put them on. Then he took his classic, white _"Fuck SOPA" _ words were written on a mask of a group called _Anonymous_. He got that tee when he went to a conference where various people explained why SOPA and PIPA were bad and signed against those _'Bullshit tickets' _as he would put it. He put on his socks, took his red bracelet, his phone, his wallet and made his way downstairs.

As he was near the exit of his house, he noticed a box that had a _Reebok _logo on it. _'Oh, right!'_ he thought, _'I just got these today. Lucky!'_

He opened the still wrapped up box to see a brand new pair of white sneakers. He ordered them through _eBay_, they weren't cheap, but if Natsu saved up the allowance he got from the principal for at least a few weeks he could buy almost any piece of clothing he wanted.

He tried them on, _'Fits like a glove'_ he thought as he checked his phone again. It was 6.40 already. _'Time to go, I wonder what the weather's like.' _he thought as he peeked through the window. It was getting cloudy and Natsu thought it might rain, so he took his black hoodie and left his house, locking the door.

Erza, on the other hand, was already in the city. She was wearing her casual blue-ish outfit, but with that red hair random guys would still stare at her in awe. 'She's so hot..' one said, she chuckled as she heard those words. _'Men.' _she thought.

"Let's go visit that shop" she heard Lucy say "looks like it has a lot of cute stuff!" she said as she smiled. Juvia nodded and both of the girls made their way to the shop, Erza followed.

"Sooooo cute!" Lucy shrieked as she pushed a red plushie bunny on to Erza's chest "Don't you think it's cute?" she asked Erza with a huge smile on her face.

Erza said as she saw the plushie: "It really is cute" she smiled while squishing it, "and soft, too." the girls shared a laugh.

"Oh!" Juvia gasped in surprise, "Doesn't this one remind you of Natsu?" she pointed at a pink dragon plushie with black eyes. Erza blushed, "It really does look like him..". Juvia chuckled, but Lucy just smiled. _'So she does like him. Lucky you, Natsu.' _she thought.

_'I need to buy this' _was all Erza thought.

* * *

"Achoo!" Natsu sneezed. _'Someone_ _must be talking shit about me' _he thought with an irritated expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Natsu? You caught a cold or something?" Loki asked.

"Don't be stupid" Gray said "There's no way in hell this fire-head could catch a cold, it's like he's immune to it" Gray laughed.

"Oh shut up, let's go to that bar already! Who the hell are we waiting for?" Natsu growled as he was stomping around impatiently.

"We're waiting for you to get even angrier, sunshine." Gray said, sarcastically.

"What was that, asscrack?" Natsu taunted his friend as he rammed his forehead on to his.

"You wanna go, birdbrain?" Gray semi-shouted.

"Now now gentlemen, at least today, no fighting?" Loki asked them politely with a smile on his face as he pushed the two back from each other.

"Ugh.. fine" Natsu replied as he backed away

_'You should be grateful, your dream's about to come true because of me, dumbass' _Gray thought.

Gray looked at his phone, It was 7.20. _'The girls should be ready by now' _he thought. "Okay, let's go."

"So we were just waiting for your order?" Natsu facepalmed.

"Who did you think we were waiting for?" Loki asked him.

"Noone.." he sighed.

_'He has no idea.' _both Gray and Loki thought to themselves.

As they started walking around the centre, Gray noticed that there were a lot of people walking around the centre. _'Good.'_ he thought. He knew the more people were around the easier it would be for his plan to work.  
As the three friends entered the crowd, Gray nodded to Loki, he nodded back and they left their friend to wander around. He texted Lucy:

_'We just ditched him. How're things on your end?'_

_'Okay. We're near the place where you should be at. Wow there're a lot of people here!'_

_'I know. It'll be easier this way. Careful that Natsu doesn't spot you, he's somewhere in the crowd'_

* * *

As Lucy read the last text, she tried looking up and to her surprise there was Natsu, really close to them. _'Oh no!'_ she exclaimed in her mind, _'He'll see us if he comes any closer..!' _She started panicking, but calmed down when Juvia put her hand on her shoulder. "Look" she whispered quietly as she pointed at Erza who was already lost in the crowd. "Let's go" she said as she chuckled. Lucy nodded, _'Now it's up to them'_she thought with a smile on her face.

_'Where the hell did those two go?'_ he wondered as he was wandering around, _'Shit, there're a lot of people here today..' _he thought when suddenly someone bumped in to him.

"What the-" he wanted to say, but stopped as he saw a certain redhead bump in to his chest, _'-hell..?'_

"Oh, I'm sorr-" she gasped as she looked up, "-Natsu..?" She said, surprised, with a blush on her face.

"E-Erza.." he answered while giving an unsure laugh and scratching the back of his head. _'I'm gonna die today._' he thought.

"You think he'll try something?" Loki asked his friend while they were meeting up with the girls.

"He better," Gray said, "Or I'll kick his ass." then added.

"Hundred jewels says he doesn't."

"You're on." Gray accepted as they fist-bumped. He looked at his pink-haired friend who was blushing like a mad man, _'Go for it.'_he thought as he smiled.

* * *

Natsu couldn't believe the situation he was in. He was abandoned by his friends and ten seconds later he met Erza? _'It's too good to be true..'_ he thought as he looked at her. "Wow," he said, "You look... _beautiful_." he blurted out. He noticed Erza blushed. _'Oh SHIT! Did I just said that out loud..?'_

_'Did he just call me beautiful..?'_she was taken aback. "Thanks.." she said while turning her glance way, her cheeks red.

_'Wait.. did she just..?'_

And then the clouds gave in. It started pouring like there was no tomorrow. 'Damn it.' he thought as he put on his hood, but then he noticed Erza didn't have any protection against the rain.

"Come on." he said as he instinctively grabbed her hand and took her to the nearest cafe.

"Wha-" she didn't even have enough time to protest.

"Whew," Natsu said as they entered the cafe, "that was unexpected.." he added.

"Natsu.. your hand.." Erza muttered shyly with her hair covering her eyes and her cheeks bright red.

As Natsu noticed that he was still holding Erza's hand he suddenly blushed and let go, turning away and apologizing, "S-sorry." he said.

Natsu saw a free table by a corner of the cafe, then he looked through the window, _'Doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon..' _he thought.

"Look, " he said as he pointed towards the free table, "Let's have some coffee while the rain stops"

Erza nodded, but she still wasn't looking at him.

_'Oh this is just fantastic' _he thought, sarcastically.

* * *

And there he was, sitting in a cafe together with the fearsome Titania of FT High. Natsu was getting tired of the awkward silence that had ensued itself.

He thought he should break the ice, because he was getting uncomfortable from the silence alone. "I'm gonna get some tea," he started, "Need me to get you anything?" he asked.

Erza nodded, still not looking at him, "B-black tea, please.." she muttered.

Natsu heard it, but he thought this would be a good chance to tease her a bit.

"Which tea..?" he asked as he moved his face close to Erza's.

She turned to look at him, "Bla..-" and she noticed that their eyes met, about five centimeters from each other. "BLACK TEA!" she shouted as she punched him in the face. Natsu had never seen anyone blushing so much.

"Okay, okay. " he said as he laughed while rubbing the cheek that got hit. _'She's cute,_' he thought _'but hits harder than the devil.'_

* * *

As he went to the counter, he noticed something that made him smile.

"One black and one fruit tea" he ordered "Two cupcakes and a slice of this, please." he added with a smile while pointing to the reason of his smile.

"Coming right up" the woman at the counter said. "Is that your girlfriend? she asked.

Natsu blushed. "N-no.." he muttered.

The woman only chuckled. Natsu blushed even more.

"Okay, here's the tea" the woman said after a couple of minutes.

"I'll be right back" Natsu said as he took the cups to his table.

"Here" he gave Erza her tea.

"Thanks.." she muttered.

"No problem." he smiled as he went back to the counter. As he thanked the woman, he went back with his cupcakes.

"Erza, I've got something for you" he said with a mischievous smile on his face while putting the plate before her. It was a slice of strawberry cake.

Her eyes instantly lit up, it was a very nicely made cake. _'This must've cost quite a bit' _she thought as she was looking for her wallet in her purse for money to give back to Natsu.

"Don't worry about it," he suddenly said

"But-" she wanted to protest, but was interrupted by Natsu's smile.

"No butt's," he said, "I dragged you here, so it's only natural that I'd pay" he said as he started chewing down on his cupcakes.

She smiled, "Thanks" she said, it was Natsu's turn to blush.

"You're welcome.." he muttered as she chuckled.

* * *

Natsu noticed that the cake had broken the awkward silence that had almost destroyed their moment together. They started talking about various stuff, from school stuff to what movies they like and whatever else.

"If you got a chance to get a pet," Erza started, "What kind of pet would you want?" She asked, curiously.

"Hmm.." Natsu paused, "a cat." he answered with a smile.

_'A cat person, huh?'_she thought while chuckling.

"What?" he asked, surprised by his friend's reaction.

"Nothing." she said as she slipped her tongue out and they both started laughing.

"Sooo.." after a few moments Erza started, hesitantly, "I've been meaning to ask you this, but I never got the chance.."

Natsu blushed, _'She's not gonna ask THAT, is she..?' _he wondered as his eyes widened.

"E-E-E-Erza.. I-I-I think it's a bit..-" he was interrupted:

"Why did you skip half your lessons last year?" she asked, ignoring what he was about to say.

Natsu bashed his head on the table. _'Natsu, you idiot!'_ he yelled at himself in his mind as he continued to bash the table with his head, _'Why would she ever ask that kind of question?' _he started crying from the pain his head was feeling.

"Is something wrong?" Erza asked surprised by the reaction, but not fazed about Natsu bashing his head so much.

"No, it's nothing" Natsu said, disappointment was evident in his voice, "Why didn't I go to school last year?" he repeated the question with a sigh, "It's kind of personal," Natsu tried to dodge the question, "But all I can say that it was because of my ex." he said.

Erza was surprised, _'So he's the kind of person who'd give his life away for the one's he loves, huh..?'_she wondered with a smile on her face.

Natsu looked through the window as he finished his tea. "It stopped raining" he said.

"Yeah.." Erza replied, she wanted this moment to last for at least a bit longer.

"It's getting late" Natsu said, "And we should get going before it starts raining again" he said while standing up, smiling. Erza nodded and followed.

* * *

While leaving the cafe: "Let me walk you home" he said.

"N-no.." she replied, hesitantly, "I can go back myself." while blushing.

"Yeah, you could" he started, "But you had to endure my boring company all evening" he said, "so it's only fair that I walk you home, right?" he smiled.

"B-but.." Natsu put his finger on her lips, interrupting her:

"Do I need to repeat myself?" he asked, still smiling.

"Fine.." she muttered as they started walking.

While walking they were chitchatting about everything. From Lucy being single to Gray and Juvia's relationship. Natsu had no idea why they started talking about people's relationships with each other though.

He noticed that Erza was shivering. _'She must be cold in this weather' _he thought as he unzipped his hoodie and put it on her.

"Na-Natsu..?" She asked, taken aback by his actions.

"You're cold, aren't you?" he asked as he zipped up the hoodie and put his headphones on her neck, "can't let the student council president catch a cold, or the teachers will kill me" he said with a smile on his face.

Erza blushed: "Thanks.." she muttered.

He nodded his head and started walking again.

"Aren't you cold though?" Erza asked, concerned.

"What, you gonna offer me to cuddle up to you in that hoodie? You know we couldn't both fit in it" he said as he laughed, but immediately stopped when he saw Erza's glare, "..n-no, I'm not." he answered. Erza only sighed.

* * *

They were at Erza's front door. _'This house isn't big, but it seems cozy' _Natsu thought. He turned to Erza and saw her looking at him.

"Natsu.. I-" she started, but Natsu already knew what she was about to say.

"Yeah," he interrupted her, "I had a good time too." he said with a grin.

Erza blushed, then smiled. "Bye." She said as she entered her home.

"Later" he answered and started walking back home.

Natsu was happy. This was the first time in a long long time that he felt this happy. _'What the heck is this feeling?' _he thought as he blushed and smiled.

Erza sighed in relief. _'I really did have a great time' _she thought as she blushed. She was happy.

But that happiness was short lived. Erza's phone started vibrating. _'Who could be texting me this late?' _she thought, but she saw something that she was never expecting to see. The message was from an unknown number, but all it said was: _'Hey, Erza. It's Gerard.'_

She gasped for air. She couldn't believe that this person would ever again dare make contact with her. She fell back on the door, sliding down on the ground. She was looking at that message for over ten minutes. She still couldn't believe her eyes. _'No..'_ she thought as she started crying. _'Not him..'_

Suddenly she heard a familiar song:

_**I sit alone and watch the clock,  
Tryin' to collect my thoughts.  
All I think about is you..**_

She noticed she still had Natsu's headphones, but she didn't turn them off, she liked the song. _'This song.. Believe? ' _she wiped the tears from her cheecks.

_**Believe in me,  
I know you've waited for so long.  
Believe in me,  
Sometimes the weak become the strong..  
**_  
She sniffed Natsu's hoodie: 'It's his scent' she thought with a smile on her blushing face.

_**Believe in me,  
**__**This life's not always what it seems.  
**__**Believe in me,  
**__**Cause I was made for chasing dreams.**_

_'Natsu..' _she thought, as she pushed her phone to the side, "I.." she muttered to herself as she slowly fell asleep while the song continued:

_**I sit alone and watch the clock,  
Tryin' to collect my thoughts.  
All I think about is you..**_

* * *

**Hope you people liked this one, I know I did. :D  
**


	8. Lost Love

It's been a week since their surprise date. Natsu was depressed because it seemed to him that Erza was avoiding him. Not once has he seen her looking at him in the school's halls, but always when she saw that he noticed her she would walk away. Natsu tried to find out what the problem was by confronting Erza in the student council room, but she would always say that she was busy and asked him to leave. Natsu literally had no idea what was going on in her head.

"So what's been going on with you and Erza lately?" Gray asked his friend when they were walking home after school. Juvia had stayed to wait for Lucy who had one test she was in debt to Gildarts after catching a cold and skipping school after trying to get Natsu and Erza together, so Gray took the opportunity to talk to Natsu freely, "I haven't seen you two together this whole week, and you've been grumpy as hell." he said while humming some random tune.

"How should I know?" he pouted, "She's been avoiding me since the surprise date we had last Friday" he turned to Gray, "Thanks, by the way."

"No problem." he laughed. "You have any idea why she's been avoiding you though?"

"I did try asking her a few times, but she just brushed it off and said she was busy." he pouted, "Is she on her period or something?" Natsu grunted.

Gray smacked him, "Idiot." he added.

"Why the hell did you do that for?" The pink haired boy semi-shouted while scratching the back side of his head.

"You'll know when you grow up." Gray sighed.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

Meanwhile, Erza was sitting alone in the council room, looking at her phone. She's been texting with Gerard, her ex-boyfriend, who suddenly reappeared after a year of absence. Erza didn't know whether to be sad or happy, because it looked like Gerard changed, but she couldn't be sure because they haven't met yet, only exchanged a few messages.

"Hey Erza, what are you doing?" Mira asked as she entered the council room.

"Texting" she replied.

"With whom?" she asked, curiously.

Erza paused, she didn't know if she should tell Mirajane about the person she's been having casual conversations with. "..none of your business." she answered.

"Oh come on, you know you can tell me" Mira smiled, "Natsu?" she asked.

"W-what? No.." she sighed, "..Gerard."

Mira's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "The same Gerard..?" Mira asked, her voice shivering.

"Yeah.." she answered, Mira's expression changed.

"How can you do that to yourself?" She shouted, "After what he had done to you! After he used you like that? After he.."

"That's enough, Mira!" Erza shouted back, "What I do is none of your.." but before she could finish her sentence, she was slapped.

"It's not my business? How can you say that? Aren't we best friends?" she said as her eyes started tearing up.

"Mira.."

"And what about Natsu?" she added, to Erza's surprise.

"Natsu..?" she glanced at her friend, "What does he have to do with any of this?" she asked, angry that she included him in the conversation.

"Don't you have feelings for him?" Mira asked the question that Erza had been wondering herself. Ever since the date that Lucy and Gray planned for them, she's been acting weird towards Natsu. She herself didn't know why, but she would just randomly blush every time she'd see him.

The redhead sighed, "I don't know.."

After a brief pause: "You idiot!" Mirajane shouted at her friend while leaving the room, Erza only frowned. _'I knew this was going to happen..' _she admitted to herself. She thought about chasing after her, but her phone vibrated again. It was Gerard.

_'You still study at FTH?' _Erza sighed after reading the message. _'Why do you text me at the worst of times with the most random of questions?' _she wondered.

_'Yup. What about you?'_

_'I've been working temporary jobs. I'm thinking of moving back to Magnolia'_

_'Really? When?'_

_'I don't know exactly when, but I'm in town right now, and I miss it a lot. I miss you, too'_

The message said. Erza didn't know what to reply to it, she was lost in thought. _'Has he really changed?' _That sentence was lurking in her mind for the last week. Suddenly, her phone vibrated again, this time, the message said:

_'Can we meet?'_

After a pause for thoughts, she replied: _'I'll think about it.' _and with that said, she went home.

* * *

The next day was cloudy. It had rained all night, as if an omen to something bad. School had already ended, and Natsu knew that around this time Erza would be in the student council room. _'That's it, I'm done wondering why the hell that woman's avoiding me' _he thought as he opened the council room's door open.

"Erza!" he shouted as he entered.

Erza was startled, she was texting with a certain someone, again.

"What do you want?" she asked, annoyed.

"Come outside" Natsu asked.

"No, I'm fine here." she answered, her arms crossed.

"Fine then, I'll ask here" he sighed, "Why the HELL- " he noted the word "-have you been avoiding me?"

As those words were said, the whole council room turned to look at the two. Erza was blushing, embarrassed, but Natsu's expression didn't change. He was serious about this.

"A-avoiding you? Don't be stupid" she retorted, "I have no reason to avoid you, I just don't like talking to you." she added.

"What the hell? You were all friendly with me before," he semi-shouted, "and now you tell me you don't like talking with me?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you." she answered, calmly.

"So what the hell?" Natsu was getting angry.

Erza sighed, "None of your business." she said as she took her phone and left the room, not even bothering to look at Natsu.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere until you answer my question!" he shouted as he grabbed her hand.

"Let go!" she yelled at him, trying to pry her hand loose, "I'm going to meet with someone!"

"Who?" he asked. He knew that she wasn't his girlfriend, but Natsu was just too pissed to back down now.

"Gerard!" she blurted out, not realizing that Natsu knew that name, and that how much that name had just hurt him. He almost immediately let go of her hand, eyes wide open. His every muscle told him to stop her, to grab her and tell her what he truly felt for her, but he just wouldn't. He couldn't. She was going to meet with her past love. She didn't care about him. Those thoughts were going through Natsu's head, gnawing at him.

The redhead just walked away, not giving a single glance at his direction. She didn't even notice, that Natsu didn't ask who this Gerard person was.

_'The nerve of him! It's not like he's my boyfriend that I have to explain my every move to him! Who the hell does he think he is?' _She was fuming.

Natsu watched her as she was walking away. "Damn it!" he shouted as he punched the wall, making his knuckles bleed, not minding the students that were staring at him.

* * *

_'Meet me, now.'_

_'What's wrong?'_

_'Nothing. I just want to meet you.'_

_'Our old place?'_

_'I'm already there.'_

She finished typing her message while sitting on a bench in the middle of Magnolia Park. She always did like the place. Quiet, beautiful. Tranquil even.

Erza was still mad at Natsu for lunging out like that. It wasn't his business what she was doing, but she still regretted walking out like that. She even forgot her bag and uniform jacket.

A good ten minutes later a man showed up. He had blue hair, brown eyes and a red tattoo on his right eye. He wore gray sweatpants, white sneakers and a white hoodie. "Have you been exercising?" Erza asked. _'Why would you ask such a weird question after such a long time..?' _she asked herself in her mind.

"Yep," he smiled, "how do you think I got here so fast, hehe" he replied.

Erza couldn't help but smile. _'He really has changed' _she thought.

"Wow. This is a first."

"What?" she wondered?

"Your jacket." he pointed at her, "You're never without it when school's in" he said as he smiled.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "I must've left it at school.."

"So let's go get it, we can catch up while walking." Gerard said.

"F-fine.." she thought. She had forgotten about Natsu completely. Erza thought that the person in front of her had changed back to the man she loved.

* * *

Mirajane was going up the stairs to the school's roof. She figured Natsu would be there. She needed to know where Erza was.

"Natsu?" she called.

"Right here." He said. He was sitting on the ground, his back against the rail. His one leg was bent so he could lean his hand on it, with which he held a lit cigarette.

"I thought you quit..?" Mirajane said, shocked that Natsu would smoke again.

"I did." he said, plainly. His hair was covering his eyes.

"So why are you smoking again?"

"Just felt like it." He said as he tilted his head up to look at the passing clouds, "It's gonna rain today." he added, his expression was that of a child whose candy was taken from him. Mirajane couldn't help but think he looked cute, but she had a hunch why Natsu was that way.

"Where's Erza?" she asked, in a straight-to-the-pointy way.

"She went to meet with Gerard." He pouted with a twitching eyebrow.

"Gerard.." she gasped, "Wait.. so you know?"

"I know he was her boyfriend a few years back." he said, "But I have no idea why they broke up." he added. "Gildarts talks a lot." He added because he knew she was curious where he found that out.

"Natsu," she said as she crouched down if front of him, grabbing his shoulders, "You have to stop Gerard!" she exclaimed, Natsu's eyes widened with both surprise and concern.

"Wha-.. Why?" he asked as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs, "What's wrong?"

"Gerard.. he will hurt Erza again." she muttered, noticing that something in Natsu changed.

"Explain." He said. His look wasn't that of the normal seventeen-year-old kid she knew him to be, but that of a fighter, a fighter who was ready to fight for what was his to protect. That look that reminded her of the Salamander. A look she hoped she'd never see again.

* * *

Erza and Gerard were already near the school's entrance. Gerard felt a nostalgic feeling in his chest:

"I missed this place." he said with a sad smile on his face.

"Yeah, I bet this place missed you too." Erza comforted him.

"I wonder about that.." he muttered.

As they entered: "How have the past two years treated you?" She asked.

"Not good," he replied, "prison life's hard, especially when you're seventeen."

"But you survived"

Gerard didn't reply. he only muttered something to himself. _'I wonder if he's alright' _Erza wondered.

* * *

Mira let out a deep sigh: "I never wanted to remember this story, moreover tell it to someone.." Mirajane started:

It all started in the first year of highschool. Both Erza and Mirajane were classmates. Gerard was a second-year. Both girls had a crush on him. Who wouldn't? He was considered to be the hottest second-year, some even thought he was an idol. The girls thought he was perfect. He was cute, smart, responsible, reliable.

"Erza met him first," Mira said, with a sad expression, "I sometimes wonder what would've happened if it was me in her shoes." she added.

They met on the bench under the oak tree. The one overlooking the school yard. The same one where Natsu first saw Erza.

Erza was crying. She always thought of the life she'd have if her parents were alive, and that thought always made her cry. It was Gerard who noticed Erza and comforted her. It was Gerard who erased the tears from her eyes. It was Gerard who brought those tears back.

From then they became friends, always spending time with each other. With time they came closer. Much closer. Erza eventually fell in love with the boy who had blue hair. Everything seemed like a dream to them. They even talked about the future at some point, where they would be married, have kids. It was bliss for both of them, until the accident.

The accident which made Gerard lose his parents. That damned accident that started it all.

He and his parents were driving home from visiting his grandparents. It was raining that day. They were hit by a truck which lost control on the highway. Gerard was the only survivor.

From that point, he had changed. Everyone thought that it was only his mood which changed, and they expected it to go back to its normal self in due time. No one noticed, that it was something deeper. The grief of losing his parents destroyed him, it shattered his mind.

Erza often came to visit him in the hospital. She'd try to raise his spirits, reassure him that it would all be okay. He didn't hear any of it. When he got out of the hospital, he started drinking. A lot. He stopped attending school and was drunk all the time. He was always angry, not sad or depressed, but angry. He would pick fights with people, often it was bloody. And Erza got the worst of it. He often beat her, never hitting her face so no one could notice it. He knew that Erza wouldn't give up on him, he used that to vent his anger. She would often go missing for a few days, but she always returned. It was impossible to know what was happening, because she loved him too much to tell anyone about it. God knows what happened during those days.

The breaking point for Erza was when Gerard tried to force his way in to her home, hitting her grandmother. Erza's grandmother was the dearest person in the world for her, so she called the police. The man was too drunk to notice who she called, and he was too drunk to hold back.

The police made it just in time. If they'd been at least one second late, Erza probably wouldn't be alive today..

Natsu didn't say anything. He only listened while smoking his cigarette. He smoked one, then another one, and then a third one. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. _'Gerard..'_he was screaming in his mind. He couldn't believe that Erza went to meet with this person, he couldn't believe that she still had feelings for this.. creature.

* * *

Erza was already in the council room, fetching her things. Gerard followed her in, closing the door silently so she wouldn't hear.

"Erza.." he whispered.

"Hmmm?"

Next thing she knew she was backed in to a wall, Gerard's hand holding hers over her head, his other hand on her mouth. He licked her neck, then whispered again: "I've missed you."

_'Oh no..'_ Erza thought as her eyes started tearing up, _'Not this face! Not this face again..! How could I be so naive..?' _She tried screaming through his hands when she saw the monstrous, evil grin he had on his face, but to no effect. No one would be in school at this hour, moreover near the council room.

She looked around, and noticed Natsu's phone on her desk.

_'Natsu.. please.. help!'_

* * *

"Okay, Mira, I've heard enough." he said as he slowly got up, his hand on the rail. He gripped it with such force that it cracked, bent, "Where would they be?" Natsu asked, not even looking at her.

"The park, probably"

Natsu nodded: "I'll bring her back" he said, "I swear." he added as he started running towards the exit. He thought he should first head for the council room to get his phone and try to call her.

In his mind Natsu still tried to process what she said. And with every thought of Erza being beaten up crossing through his head, Natsu got more and more enraged. A vein popped on his forehead, his eyes were wide open, his fists clenched to the point where his palms would bleed.

"_Gerard..!_" He roared.

* * *

**And it's done! I've got mixed feelings for this one.. I hope I didn't go overboard with the whole "Gerrard goes crazy" thing.  
Anyway, hope you enjoyed. :)**


	9. A Shattered Nightmare

Natsu was running down the school's halls. He had never ran this fast before in his life. He knew that someone's life depended on him. He knew that Erza was in trouble. He just had this feeling that she needed his help.

_'Erza.._ _please, be safe.'_

* * *

He was near the council room. He stopped running when he heard a voice:

"I've missed you," a man's voice said, "Let's have some fun!" the man shouted. Natsu peeked through the door, silently. What he saw almost made him snap. Erza was there, her hands were being held above her, her shirt torn up. He saw a blue haired man grabbing her neck, chocking her. It was Gerard.

Natsu wanted to jump in there and bash his face in, but he thought Gerard might try to use this situation against him and threaten to hurt Erza. Natsu barely held himself back.

His teeth grinding, his fists clenched, blood running out of his palms, his eyes wide open. He waited for his chance to lunge in there and tear this man apart.

"Erza.." the man whispered, "You wanted to know how the past two years in prison have treated me.. right?" he asked her. This was the first time Natsu had seen such an expression on a man's face. "I'll show you.. little by little!" He started laughing as he punched Erza in the stomach, gripping her neck harder.

_'That's it..!'_

Gerard heard the door bash open. He barely had time to turn around to notice a pink flash and a fist in his face. The force of the punch made his head crash on to the wall. Before he could realize what had happened, he felt a hand on his face, pulling his head and bashing it on a wooden table, dragging his whole body through and his head met with another wall.

Gerard was laying on the floor, he still couldn't understand what had happened, his vision was blurry. All he could notice was a man with pink hair standing before him. He couldn't make out his face, but he knew who he was from his hair alone. Natsu grabbed his neck and slowly made him stand up while backing him to a wall.

Gerard laughed quietly. "_Salamander_, eh?" he said, that evil grin which Erza feared still on his face.

"How the hell do you know that name!" Natsu shouted. He wanted to kill the man gasping for air before him.

"Your old acquaintances told me." The man laughed louder.

Natsu's eyes widened. He didn't want to believe what he just heard. He looked at Erza, and the sight he saw made him even angrier. She was on her knees, her shirt was in tatters, her upper body visible. Her eyes were open, but she didn't move. It looked like she was dead, but she wasn't. She was in shock. Her mind almost shattered.

"You Bastard!" Natsu shouted as he started pounding Gerard on the face, not letting go of his neck to give him time to breathe. Natsu didn't hold back. He didn't care if his head would fall off. He didn't want to control himself, he just wanted this man gone.

Suddenly, Natsu stopped. Gerard had pulled out a knife and pointed it against Natsu's neck.

"_Midnight _told me you might be here" he said while trying to breathe, "And he asked me not to hurt you." he added, "But I don't think there's a possibility to avoid you now, Salamander."

Natsu was taken aback. _'That name..'_ he thought to himself _'How the hell does he know it..?' _It was the name of his old friend. One of the friends he never wanted to see or hear from again.

Natsu's expression changed. His hair covered his eyes and a grin appeared on his face. A grin almost identical to Gerard's.

"Midnight, huh?" Natsu whispered, "If you talked to him, he must've told you that I've faced bigger knives than this pocket knife before, right?" Natsu said while staring him dead on the eyes.

Gerard was surprised: "So you finally decided to show your true colors." he stated with a laugh.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked, "When did I ever hide it?" he asked as he gripped his neck harder, almost causing it to break, unfazed by the knife near his neck. He pushed himself closer to the knife, it pierced through his skin, a bit of blood spilled out. "Well, come on, weren't you going to kill me?" He asked, the grin was still on his face, "It's easy to take a life, right?"

"Don't mock me!" Gerard shouted as he tried to cut Natsu's neck open, but he would have none of that. He pushed his head away, grabbed the hand that had the knife and headbutted him, bruising his own forehead.

Gerard fell to the ground. He had lost consciousness.

Natsu looked towards Erza, her face hadn't changed. He walked over to her, crouched, grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Erza!" He shouted. "Snap out of it!" He tried again, but to no effect. Her eyes wouldn't change, she wouldn't move. Natsu wanted to go back to Gerard and kick his face in, he didn't care if he was unconscious. But he knew that he had to take care of Erza first. He needed to get her outside.

Natsu grabbed her jacket and put it on her, then took her piggyback and ran out of the council room, leaving Gerard on the ground.

* * *

Natsu didn't take her far. He ran outside and sat her on the bench under the oak tree. He tried to make her snap out of the sorry state she was in.

"Erza!" he shouted, "Come on, Erza! Wake up!" he tried slapping her. Nothing worked. "Damn it!" he exclaimed.

It didn't take long for Gerard to wake up and find them. "You got me pretty good there." Said Gerard as he walked out of the school, rubbing his forehead.

Natsu knew that he had to face Gerard. He knew that if he didn't stop him he'd try to force his way in to Erza's home again, not only harming her, but her family as well. "I'll get you even better this time." Natsu retorted while giving him a glare.

"Salamander.. Just give me Erza and let's be done with this." He tried reasoning with him.

Natsu sighed: "What the hell happened to you? Weren't you her boyfriend before? How the hell can you treat her like this?" Natsu shouted, he hoped Mira would hear him.

"How can I do that to her?" Gerard asked himself wondering the same question himself. After a few minutes, he replied, "It's simple, really. Before I was just acting this way because I was on the influence of alcohol. The grief of losing my parents was too much for me, apparently. " he added that last word, as if he didn't believe himself.

"And then she got me in prison." Natsu's eyebrow twitched when he heard that line.

"You deserved it!"

"Did I? I was drunk!" he shouted, defending himself. "I got to thank her though. Even though I was almost killed in there countless times, I've found my true self. My true self, which only wants to cut her in half because of what she did to me!" He said, the grin from before returning.

Natsu didn't ask anything further, he just charged him. He couldn't believe he said that Erza was the reason he got in prison. Natsu punched him, then again, again and again. He had lost count how many times he did. His fists were already bleeding. Gerard only stood there, he didn't even move. Finally, after spitting out some blood, he said: "I heard you were stronger, Salamander!" he said as he swung his elbow and hit Natsu straight on the face, almost breaking his nose.

Natsu didn't move from his spot. He just took it and hit Gerard again. They were both exchanging blows for what seemed like forever to Natsu, neither moving from the place they were standing by even an inch.

Little by little, Natsu was getting tired. Constantly punching with all of his strength and receiving equally strong blows eventually got to him, but Gerard was in the same condition. Finally, Natsu noticed that Gerard had let his guard down, at that moment, Natsu swung directly on the temple. Gerard had temporary lost his senses, and Natsu used that opportunity to do an uppercut, almost making his teeth crush themselves.

Gerard was on the ground, screaming in pain while holding his jaw. "Stupid brat!" he shouted, as he got up. "Enough!" he shouted again as he pulled out a gun, "Either give me Erza, or die with her!"

Natsu didn't even flinch. At that moment while being in the crosshair of a gun that he knew could kill him, all he thought was: 'Erza's behind me. I'll protect her.'

Natsu raised his hands in a defensive stance. He wasn't about to give up, or give her up.

"Get out of my way, or I really will kill you!" Gerard shouted, his hands started shaking.

"If you think that taking a life is that easy.. THEN DO IT!" The last three words he screamed from the bottom of his lungs.

And at that instant when Gerard pulled the trigger, Natsu could only think of Erza. Despite being shot, he didn't even worry about himself.

"Gah..!" he groaned as he fell on one knee. Gerard had hit him on the shoulder, blood spattered everywhere. The pain was excruciating, but Natsu wouldn't scream. He wouldn't give this mad man the ecstasy of hearing it.

Erza heard the gunshot. She came back to her senses. She thought it all was a dream, that Gerard returned, that he hurt her again, that he almost killed her. But what she saw before her destroyed her naive thoughts. What she saw was worse than anything she could've imagined. Gerard stood there, all bloody, aiming a gun at Natsu, who was crouching on one knee, his right hand held his left shoulder which was shot and bleeding.

"Natsu!" She shrieked as she stood up from the bench.

"Don't come any closer!" Natsu shouted as he slowly got up, "Erza.. I'll erase your nightmare." he said, quietly, with kindness in his voice, "So please, just stay there."

"Natsu.. no-" she tried pleading with him, but Natsu turned around, his face bloody, bruised, his body was shivering from the gunshot, but he was smiling, and all he said was:

"Erza, just believe in me."

_'Natsu..'_

At that instant she remembered the date they had and the song that had calmed her down when she was crying. She didn't say a word, she just covered her mouth with both hands and started crying as Natsu was slowly walking towards Gerard.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, "Scared?"

He really was scared. He couldn't believe what he had done. "SHUT UP!" He shouted as he shot again, hitting Natsu on the leg.

"Ahhh..!" he screamed. Either from blood loss or from the pain, probably from both, Natsu's vision had gotten blurry. He could barely stand before, but now it was even harder with a shot leg. Still, he kept moving, limping towards him.

"It Isn't easy.. is it?" Natsu asked Gerard. His voice was shivering.

Gerard was shaking. The person had just been shot two times, yet he still moved towards him, his eyes were that of a killer. A killer who would savor his kill.

"Y-y-y-you're a monster!" he shouted as he shot again. But this time the bullet only grazed Natsu's eyebrow, opening the wound Elfman had inflicted on him before. Blood gushed out almost instantly, blurring Natsu's vision even more.

Now Natsu was up close to Gerard. He could barely stand, but he knew what he had to do. He pushed his forehead on the gun's barrel.

"Come on.." he said while gasping for air, "Shoot me.. Kill me if you're ready to live with the countless sleepless nights and a life full of nightmares!"

Gerard's hands were shaking madly now. He thought this situation was hell, and that Natsu was the devil, staring with a glance that pierced his very essence. He dropped the gun, and Natsu captured that moment to gather all of the strength he had left and punch Gerard straight on the face with his right hand, making him fly a few feet back and knocking him out cold.

Erza couldn't believe her eyes. This person who had just been shot three times. This person who she thought to be a useless lazy-ass just destroyed her nightmare. She was smiling. She was happy. But that changed once Natsu himself fell on the ground, blood flowing out of both his shoulder and leg, flowing around him.

"Natsu!" She shrieked as she ran to him.

He was breathing heavily, barely awake. He had lost too much blood.

"Natsu! NATSU!" she shrieked, tears flowing down through her cheeks.

"Erza.." he muttered, "He's gone now. You're safe." he said with a smile on his face, as if talking to a child who was scared by an imaginary monster hiding in the closet. His eyes closed, he lost consciousness. Falling to his dreams while hearing Erza call his name.

* * *

**Well this was fun. I hope the people who wanted Natsu to kick Gerard's ass are happy now. :D  
Hope you enjoyed. :)  
Gah! Hell's sake! Again I failed with the upload thing, sorry for the reupload. If the whole thing goes to italic once again I'm going to kill someone. D:**


	10. Hope

Gerard was walking down the streets of Magnolia, his head still pounding from the fight that had taken place in FTH. He was dizzy, barely able to walk in a straight line. He held his hand on his side as he slowly walked. He himself didn't know where he was going and he knew that in a matter of moments the authorities would be searching the whole town for him.

Gerard noticed an ambulance drive right passed him. He remembered how he had gotten away: he had woken up, all battered and bruised, covered in blood that wasn't his. He tilted his head to see Natsu laying on the ground in a pool of blood. Mirajane shouting at the phone, calling an ambulance while Erza was trying to keep Natsu awake. Gerard took that moment while both girls were preoccupied to slip out through the school's back.

_'Salamander..'_ he screamed in his mind, _'I'll get you back for this day.. I swear..!'_

He turned to the park, walking by a river, barely conscious. He walked like that for over twenty minutes, but finally his body gave in, he lost control and fell in the river, slowly sinking to the bottom.

_'This time I really will die, huh..' _he thought as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted down, losing consciousness.

Suddenly, a hand gripped him by his hoodie and dragged him out of the water. He was out cold.

"Fuck's sake, Gerard!" The man who pulled him out exclaimed as he stood up, "You're fucking useless!"

The man wore a sleeveless black vest and yellow pants with black stripes. His hair was in two colors, black and white. Black on the front and white on the back. He had black eyeliner and his lips were purple. It was easy to mistake him for a woman from his face.

"What did you expect?" another person said. This one had dark-red hair and a white coat with a black tee and black pants. He had a tattoo of a snake on his neck. "He was up against _brother-Natsu _after all." he smiled.

"Don't call him that, dumbass" the goth-like figure pouted, "He ain't our brother anymore." he added, his expression changing to a frown.

"Even if he isn't, he still hasn't lost his touch. " The other person said as he slowly observed Gerard, "I didn't think he'd get him this bad, though." He added.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Said a third person as he slowly came towards them. "Get that weakling off the ground and let's go! The boss said he'd be waiting." He had long, pointy blond hair and red eyes. His face was covered with a grin of a mad man.

"What's that jackass doing, anyway? Shouldn't he be here?" The goth asked as he slowly got Gerard up, throwing Gerard's hand on his shoulder.

"He's with the two new guys." The blond one stated, "Apparently, they both challenged him to a fight." he said while laughing.

"The two who replaced _Salamander _and _Frost_, right?" he asked again.

"Who else?"

"Hmm.. That reminds me, " the goth's eyes lit up, "I heard Frost was still staying in this town, why not pay him a visit?" he said with a grin on his face.

"Don't be stupid!" The dark-red haired man replied, "You know the boss will kill you if he finds out."

"Gah" he groaned, "Fuck him then."

"It's gonna get real fun real soon anyway." The blond added, his expression changed and he punched the unconscious Gerard in the face, "I wonder what boss wants with this one though." he said while glaring at Gerard.

"Beats me." the goth replied as the three started walking.

* * *

Erza was in the hospital, her bruises were being taken care of by a nurse. Suddenly Gray busted open the door and shouted:

"What happened? Where the hell is Natsu?"

"Calm down, Gray!" Erza shouted as Lucy stormed in, "He's being taken care of by the doctors." she answered, quieter this time.

"What happened..?" Lucy asked her, tears forming in her eyes.

Erza only frowned. The nurse left and after a brief pause Erza explained what had happened and who Gerard was. She couldn't explain what happened before Natsu got shot because she didn't know herself, she couldn't remember.

"Natsu.. was shot..?" Lucy asked with a shivering voice as she started crying. Gray clenched his fists, his body shaking from anger, his eyes wide open, but he didn't say a word.

Suddenly, a doctor entered the room, he had a sad, worried expression on his face.

"Your friend, Natsu Dragneel.." he started, "He needs surgery." he said.

"Well then get on with it!" Gray shouted.

The doctor sighed as he continued, "We will, but I must warn you, " he turned to Erza, "The boy has lost too much blood, we're not sure if he's going to make it."

As those words were said, everyone's expressions had changed. It was like something had been ripped out of them. After a brief pause, Gray spoke: "What are his chances?" his hair was covering his eyes.

"They're not slim," The doctor replied, "It's fifty-fifty. The bullet is still stuck in his shoulder, and it will fracture when we remove it, and if he's unlucky, the pieces of it might travel through his body, shredding his organs." he added.

Gray grabbed the doctor by his lab coat and backed him to a wall, "You're telling us to trust luck here!" He shouted.

"Calm down, sir!" the doctor ordered, "We're doing the best we can!" He shouted back.

Gray wanted to punch the doctor in front of him, but he couldn't. He couldn't muster the strength after hearing what he just did. "Save him, please." he whispered as he slowly removed his hands.

The man nodded and quietly exited the room.

As the doctor closed the door, he noticed a short old man near the door who had been listening to the whole exchange, "Aren't you going to go in?" he asked.

"Not yet." The old man replied, "I need to make a phone call." he smiled.

When the doctor was finally out of sight, he pulled out his phone and put it near his ear.

The person picked up:

"Yes? Makarov? What is it?"

"Natsu's in the hospital." Makarov said, bluntly, he noticed that the man on the other side of the line had gasped.

"W-what did you say? What happened?" The man shouted.

"Calm down," the old man said, quietly, "He's been shot."

"W-wha-.. how the hell can you tell me to be calm when my-"

"I said calm down!" Makarov shouted, interrupting the man, "The doctors said he'd be fine." he lied.

He heard a sigh of relief, "Thank God.. But Makarov, what happened?"

Makarov explained what happened, he had heard the details from Mirajane.

After hearing the story, the man didn't know what to say.

"They're exactly like you and June. " Makarov said while smiling

The man sighed: "I was afraid of that." and after a brief pause, he asked "So I take it he'll be needing money for medical expenses, medicine and stuff, right?"

"And his allowance." Makarov added.

"Ugh.. fine." he groaned, "I've got to get back to work, I'll send you the money later this evening." he added.

"Make sure you do."

"And Makarov.. please, take care of him."

After those words, the old man only smiled. "I will." he said as he hung up and entered the room where Erza, Gray and Lucy were.

"Principal!" Erza exclaimed.

"I heard the details from Mira" he said, "Where's Gerard?"

Erza frowned. "I don't know, he probably woke up when we were taking care of Natsu.." she said, a slight sound of fear in her voice.

Makarov didn't say anything. He just stood there, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He was too worried about Natsu to try and find the one who had hurt them so much.

"Old man.. Natsu.." Gray muttered.

"I know, I heard you and the doctor." He said, "We can just hope." he added with a frown.

* * *

About an hour later, a nurse ran into the room. "The surgery was a success!" she exclaimed.

Everyone shared a sigh of relief when they heard those words. Erza's eyes started tearing up. _'Natsu.. Thank God you're_ okay_' _she thought while smiling.

"Where is he?" Makarov asked the nurse.

"He's in the next ward." she said, "He's still asleep though and we don't know when he'll wake up, but you can visit him." the nurse smiled as Erza stood up, walking out of the room. She wanted to see Natsu as soon as possible.

She opened the door to the next ward, and what she saw made her smile and blush. Natsu was sleeping. He didn't have a care for the world. It was as if nothing happened, and this was his usual sleeping routine. She walked to his bed and gripped his hand, tears flowing down her cheeks. _'Thank you, Natsu.. For what you did.. And for staying alive.'_

Gray, Lucy and Makarov walked in and examined him. Makarov smiled, but Lucy started to cry at the sight of Natsu's bandaged shoulder and leg which were in casts. But those weren't the tears of sorrow, they were the tears of joy. Joy, that Natsu was alive and safe.

"You put us through a lot, you damned pointy-eyed bastard." Gray muttered, he held his hand on his eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing out.

Natsu snored and they couldn't help but laugh.

_'Yeah.. They really are like you and June, old friend' _Makarov smiled as he saw Erza's face.

* * *

Natsu woke up. It was night. He looked around, and noticed that he was in the hospital. He slowly got up, feeling something warm on his right hand. He turned to see Erza, leaning on his bed, sleeping. Her hand held his. He couldn't help but blush and think how cute her sleeping face was. He noticed her wearing his black hoodie and headphones, which were still playing some song he couldn't remember the name of.

"Erza.." he muttered while looking at her, freeing his hand from hers and caressing her scarlet hair. "I'm glad you're safe." he said with a smile of relief on his face.

He slowly leant back on his bed, taking her hand, but before falling asleep, he heard her mutter his name, which made him happy.

_'She's dreaming about me now, huh..'_ he thought, _'I hope it's naughty' _he chuckled as his eyes closed, making him enter dream land.

* * *

He woke up again the next morning. He slowly got up, noticing that both his arm and leg were in a cast. _'Gildarts is gonna kill me..!' _he thought while sweatdropping.

He looked around. There was no one in his room. He checked the clock near his bed, it was 10.40 _'Everyone would be in school right now' _he smiled.

He turned to the table beside his bed, which had a vase full of red roses on it. _'Only Lucy would give a guy roses..'_ he sighed, _'and this much!'_

Suddenly, the ward's door opened, and he saw a certain redhead enter the room, she held a cup of coffee and was talking to someone:

"I know he's a lazy-ass, but.." her sentence was cut short when she saw that Natsu was up, "Natsu!" She shrieked as she dropped the mug and ran towards him. Her hands around his neck, she started crying. "I'm so glad you're okay.." she sobbed.

"You should worry about yourself, how long have you been here, anyway?" he asked her, worried.

"She's been here the whole time you've been having your beauty sleep, dumbass." Gray said while entering the room, he was smiling.

"Nice to see you too, droopy-eyes." Natsu retorted, though he was also smiling.

"Natsu.." Erza muttered as she got back from him, "I'm sorry for what happened.." she was interrupted by Natsu, who hugged her.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault" he said. His words were kind, they shook Erza's heart. She only smiled while crying on his shoulders.

"Now you've gone and made her cry. " Gray sighed, Natsu only chuckled.

During that moment of happiness, Natsu couldn't help but remember what Gerard had said. _'That name.. Midnight..' _it was gnawing at Natsu. He knew that they would show up eventually, but he was still hoping that day would never come. He wanted to talk to Gray, but he wouldn't ruin this moment he had with her, being this close to her. It was all he ever wanted.

* * *

**Alright, the tenth chapter's** **done!  
****From now on, the updates are probably gonna be a bit slower, cuz school's starting for me tomorrow (I was absent for three weeks due to catching a cold. Yeah, I know, It's almost summer, weird right?)**  
**So yeah, hope you enjoyed. (And if the text's gonna be in Italic again, my word's gonna have hell to pay..! D:)**


	11. The Chord of Feelings

**I just had to :3  
**

* * *

Natsu was at home, alone. He was tuning his guitar. There was this tune which he couldn't get out of his head, he figured he should try playing it, because he thought it sounded pretty nice while he was humming it.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Hey! What's up?" asked a familiar voice.

"What the hell do you think, Gray?" Natsu replied while sighing, "I'm bored out of my mind!" he exclaimed.

Three weeks had passed since his fight with Gerard. Natsu was made to stay home, because he was suspended from school for a month by Makarov. When he heard that his friends made a fuss about it, he was both happy and irritated. He would've kicked their asses if Gildarts didn't tell them the real reason why he was grounded. Makarov wanted Natsu to rest, because his injuries might've caused severe damage to him if he was to move around. _'Idiotic worrywarts..'_he thought as he remembered what happened, a smile on his face.

"It's that bad, huh..?" he said while quietly laughing.

"You try sitting at home for three whole frickin' weeks without being able to even go to the stupid convenience store!" Natsu pouted. Lucy would always go buy food for him for these past three weeks. Junk food like chips was a no-go for her, which made Natsu even more depressed.

"Okay okay, I get it, stop whining." he retorted.

"So?" Natsu asked.

"So what?"

"So what the hell do you want?" he asked again, annoyed.

"I was wondering whether or not to visit you with Lucy and Juvia," he answered, "and Erza." he added, Natsu could tell he had a weird smile on his face.

"You really should stop butting in into other people's relationships like that." Natsu said while rolling his eyes.

"Since when has this become a relationship?" Gray laughed.

"...Good point." Natsu sighed, "Fine, but how the hell are you going to get her to come?"

"Don't worry about it." Gray answered with a chuckle. Natsu was suspicious, but he didn't ask, more like he didn't want to know.

"When will you be here?"

"Around 5." his friend answered, "Make sure you hide your porn mags."

"Oh shut up." he pouted as he hung up.

Natsu threw his phone aside and tried remembering the tune he had in his head. He tried playing it, it sounded a bit off, but with enough practice he could get it down. He did, however, have trouble with the chords because of his shoulder. He couldn't move his left hand's pinky properly, which didn't help him hit the notes at all. _'This is gonna be annoying..'_he thought with a sigh, but he wasn't about to give up.

* * *

Gray laughed as Natsu hung up. He always did like teasing him like that, because he knew that Natsu had a short temper.

"Juvia?" he turned to his girlfriend.

"Yes?" The blue haired girl smiled.

"We're going to Natsu's place this evening, you coming?" He didn't even ask Lucy, he knew she'd come anyway.

"Sure." she smirked.

"Great! Now.." he frowned, "How do we get Erza to come..?"

"Why are you trying so hard to get them together?" Juvia chuckled.

"Because a single Natsu is an annoying Natsu." he replied with a sigh. Juvia couldn't help but laugh.

"We could lie to her.." Lucy suggested.

"And face the consequences later? No thanks." Gray sweatdropped, "Wonder if we should just ask her.."

"Ask who?" Gray heard a familiar voice behind him, surprisingly, it was Erza.

"Oh! Erza.. we were just talking about you.." Gray muttered.

"What is it?" she asked, plainly.

Gray sighed, "Look, we're going to Natsu's place this evening, he's bored as hell and he could use the company. You want to come?" he asked.

Erza was surprised by this question, she was reluctant to accept at first, but then she remembered what had happened, _'I never did thank him for what he did though..'_she thought.

"Hmm.. Okay." she replied, her blunt tone unchanged.

"errr..." Gray was taken aback by that fast yet easy reply, he thought he would have to beg her to come, "..We're going there at 5, do you know where he lives?" he asked, Erza shook her head, "Then I'll text you where we're meeting, and we can go to his place." he had an unsure smile on his face. Erza only nodded and stomped away.

"Well that was... easy." said Lucy, still unsure of what had happened.

"Yeah.." both Gray and Juvia replied.

* * *

It hit 5 PM on Natsu's clock. He was still playing with his guitar, the tune he started out with sounded a lot better now. It had a sad, yet inspiring feeling to it, the rhythm was slow, but slowly fastened towards the end.

He heard his doorbell ring: "Coming!" he shouted as he put his guitar down near his couch and went to get the door. He opened it to notice Gray's smug face when he saw what he held in his hands.

"_Guitar Hero_?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yep." he answered with a smile. He had two small guitars with him which had five different color buttons on them. He showed himself in, not even asking Natsu if he could enter.

"Come in." Natsu invited the girls, and then he saw Erza, "Yo!" he greeted her with his signature grin, Erza couldn't help but blush.

"H-hey.." she muttered.

"Well what are you waiting for, come in!" he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her in, closing the door behind him.

Erza looked around once she entered, "Your house is quite big.." she muttered. It was a two-story house, the first floor was a connected living room and kitchen, Natsu liked the open space, the second floor had three rooms and a bathroom.

"Big?" Natsu was surprised, "You should see Lucy's mansion, that place is like a frickin' castle!" he said while putting up his hands trying to show how big it was, Erza couldn't help but chuckle, Natsu smiled.

"So.. how are you feeling?" Erza asked, hesitantly.

"Would be better if you'd at least messaged me once in a while." he pouted.

"Wha-.. I thought you needed to rest, so I didn't disturb you!" she defended herself.

Natsu put a hand on her shoulder, effectively making her blush even more: "You know if you'd call it would only make me feel better." he muttered, but she didn't hear him. Before she could ask, he continued: "And yeah, my left arm's a bit frozen up, but it's getting there. And the leg.. well it still hurts when I walk, but it's bearable." he smiled. Erza couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened.

"I'm sorry, Natsu.. It's all my-" but before she could continue, Natsu flicked her on the forehead. "Ow!" she exclaimed.

"It's not your fault, stop blaming yourself, idiot." he grinned. Erza was surprised how forgiving and kind this person was. He got shot, three times, when he was trying to protect her and he almost died in surgery. He got into that situation because of her, and he still forgave her without a second thought.

"Natsu..-"

"Oi! Natsu! Come help me set up the 360!" Gray yelled, interrupting Erza.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your shirt on." he said.

While Natsu was unpacking Gray's backpack, Gray looked through the games he took.

"Let's play something else then Guitar Hero first." he said

"_TEKKEN_!" he shouted, Juvia and Lucy shook their heads. "No." they replied.

"_Naruto_!" -No.

"_DragonBall_!" -No.

"_Street Fighter_?" -No.

"_Mortal Kombat_..?" -No.

Gray sighed as he looked through the rest of the games he had with him. He had _The Sims 3_with him, a game Juvia made him buy. The girls noticed the game and their eyes instantly lit up, but before they could say anything, Gray yelled: "HELL NO!", they frowned, disappointed.

"I guess that settles it, Guitar Hero time!" Natsu grinned.

As they had a lot of people with them, they decided to do a sort of tournament. They would play versus mode, the looser swaps with another person. Natsu and Lucy were first. Natsu was playing on Expert difficulty, while she was playing on the Normal one. Natsu beat her easily, "This is impossible!" she pouted. Then came Juvia's turn, she was beaten too. Then Gray swapped in.

"Alright! It's my turn now, you're going down!" he shouted, though Natsu didn't even reply, he was too wrapped up in the game to notice anything, he looked like a child waiting for the ice-cream man to come, a wild grin on his face. "Which song do you want? Gray asked.

"_Nothing for me here_ by _Dope_!" Natsu said, enthusiastically. Gray nodded as he changed his difficulty to Expert and started the song.

_**How many times should I stop and believe in myself,  
**__**I don't believe much in anything.  
**__**I've seen enough of the pain and the shame and the blame,  
**__**It don't amount up to anything.**_

They were going at it equally.

_**Now I rewind back to a time,  
**__**Where I would do anything and pay any price.  
**__**And I need time 'cause I'm starting to think,  
**__**That the promises ain't worth the sacrifice.**_

Gray had missed a few notes by now, while Natsu was going full out 100 percent.

_**How many nights should I walk in my sleep?  
**__**And I dream of how much I wanna run away.  
**__**I've had enough of the stress and the mess,  
**__**I can't take anymore, I gotta get away.**_

_'Ugh.. this is hard.' _Gray exclaimed in his mind.

_**Now I know why I'm empty inside,  
**__**And I'm sure I've only got myself to blame.  
**__**And I don't try to view the lies,  
**__**It's just a waste of time, I'll never be the same.**_

The whole time Natsu was playing, he had a grin and a slight blush on his face. Erza thought it to be weird because to her knowledge he didn't like games that much. _'It must be the music..' _she thought. It was. Natsu loved music. A lot.

_**And I can't go on, and I can't explain,  
**__**What everyone's going on, life's falling away.  
**__**And I can't rewind, and there's no escape.  
**__**It's been so long and I just don't feel the same.**_

And then the solo started. Gray was sweating as he tried hitting all the notes, he missed more than half, while Natsu missed only a few, this was easy for him.

_**There's nothing for me here.  
**__**There's nothing for me here,  
**__**I gave you my life and it's fading away.  
**__**There's nothing for me here,  
**__**I gave you my life just to fade away..**_

The song ended. Natsu had hit 98 percent of the notes, while Gray only had 76. "What was that about me going down?" Natsu triumphantly laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Gray pouted. "Erza - It's your turn now." he gave her the guitar.

"Wha- N-no.." she replied, "I don't know how to play.." she muttered.

"Come on, I'll teach you." He said as he made her sit near the TV. He sat behind and wrapped his hands around her, showing her what and when to press on the training mode. Erza was blushing, madly.

_'Bold, Natsu.. Very bold.' _Gray thought as he observed what was going on before him.

After a few minutes, Natsu got up and gave her the three game cases Gray had, Guitar Hero 3, 5 and 6.

"There's a song list on the back," he said, "pick which one you want." he smiled.

Erza looked through the cases. She knew a few of these bands, but one was sticking out the most. "This one," she said, "_Savior_." as she pointed at the name of the song on the Guitar Hero 6 case.

"_Rise Against_, huh?" Natsu grinned, "One of my favorite bands." he added.

As the song started, "Don't you want to change the difficulty?" Gray asked.

"No." she replied.

_'Brave.' _Gray thought, the scent of the imminent making fun of her was in the air. At least he thought so.

_**It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten,  
**__**What the color of her eyes were and the scars or how she got them.  
**__**As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping,  
**__**Through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten.**_

She was good, she had hit all of the notes, but so had Natsu. She was actually trying to compete with him.

_**There is no reconciliation that will put me in my place,  
**__**And there is no time like the present to drink these draining seconds.  
**__**But seldom do these words ring through when I'm constantly failing you,  
**__**Like walls that we just can't break through until we disappear,  
**__**So tell me now,**_

_**If this ain't love then how do we get out?  
**__**Because I don't know.  
**__**That's when she said I don't hate you boy,  
**__**I just want to save you while there's still something left to save.  
**__**That's when I told you I love you girl,  
**__**But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have.**_

Gray's jaw dropped as he saw how good Erza was. _'What. The. HELL?'_

_**One thousand miles away,  
**__**There's nothing left to say.  
**__**But so much left that I don't know.  
**__**We never had a choice,  
**__**This world is too much noise.  
**__**It takes me under,  
**__**It takes me under once again.**_

After a few more choruses the song ended. Natsu had 99 percent. Apparently, so did Erza. Gray, Lucy and Juvia were in awe.

"See? It isn't that hard. Gray just sucks." his grin made Erza blush.

"Oh shut up, matchstick." Gray retorted, they all shared a laugh.

* * *

About three hours later, everyone got tired of watching Erza and Natsu playing, they had been going at it ever since playing _Savior_, and they'd always get the same scores. Juvia and Lucy went to the store to buy Natsu some food, while Gray went home to get a game called _Prototype_, a game which he had been pestering Natsu about since when it came out. _'And that was back in '09..' _Natsu sighed.

Erza was wandering around Natsu's home when she saw his guitar near the couch. She ran her fingers through it to see if it was tuned. _'Seems like he takes good care of it' _she thought with a smile.

"Natsu!" she called.

"Yeah?" he turned to her, just to see her holding his guitar.

"Can you play this?" she asked.

"Can I?" he asked as he got up and walked up to her, taking the guitar, "Lemme show you." he smiled as he sat down on the couch, Erza sat down near him.

"Which song do you want me to play?"

"Any." she looked at him, curiously.

"Okay.." he replied while thinking, and then he got an idea. _'I'll play that new one!'_

He slowly rubbed his palms together (what he always does before playing) and then checked the chords if they got out of tune, they hadn't. He then started playing that song. That song that was stuck in this head for all this time. Even though he had only tried playing it for a few hours, Natsu already knew how it should sound.

Erza was astonished. Her jaw dropped as she listened to how well Natsu was playing. He did make a few mistakes though, but that's because he couldn't control his left pinky properly, which got her down a bit, but her expression quickly changed while the song was fastening it's pace. She closed her eyes, a smile and a slight blush on her face as she slowly bobbed her head to the rhythm. She thought the song was beautiful, inspiring and calming. Just from listening, Erza could tell that Natsu was no amateur, his fingers were moving through the strings so freely, it was as if the guitar was an extension of himself. She thought that Natsu looked.. cool, while playing it. His eyes were closed, and he had this smile on his face, as if nothing else in the world mattered to him, as if there weren't any problems to face or that he had never gotten into that bloody incident which had gotten him stuck at home in the first place.

The song had finally ended, he slowly opened his eyes just to see a slightly blushing Erza, who was listening to the song that Natsu played. She looked tranquil, as if listening to his song had purged her of any and every problem she had. That made Natsu happy.

"How was it?" he wondered.

"Amazing." she said that one word, that one word which made Natsu smile again. "How long have you been playing for?" she asked.

"Hmm.. I've been playing since I was like.. what, five?"

"Wow, that young?" she was surprised.

"Yeah, my father taught me the chords." he smiled as he remembered that moment...

_"...Natsu! Come down here." a man shouted, the man had spiky red hair, a face similar to the older Natsu._

_"Yes, dad?" answered a boy who had pink hair while entering the room._

_"You always did like listening to me playing this, " he held up the guitar with which Natsu had been playing ever since, "So I was wondering.. Maybe you'd like to learn to play yourself?" The man asked while smiling._

_The kid's eyes lit up, a smile overtaking his face as he nodded._

_The man laughed: "Alright, come here then." he said as he slowly lifted Natsu on his lap, his father put the guitar right in front of him. "So, if you want to play different sounds properly, you have to know the chords. Do you know what a chord is, Natsu?"_

_"Uh-uh" the son replied as he shook his head._

_The father smiled as he was wondering how to simplify the explanation: "So a chord is when you put your fingers on this right here," he put Natsu's hand on the neck of the guitar, "and you place your fingers on the strings of which the chord consists of," he placed his fingers on the "A" chord, "Try seeing how it sounds."_

_Natsu moved his hand through the strings, it didn't sound like how it was supposed to. "Dad.. that sounded ugly." he frowned._

_His father only laughed,:"You won't learn it in a day, kid. Learning to play a Guitar takes loads of time and practice. And your fingers will hurt like hell. But the rewards greatly outweigh the sacrificed time and effort." he said with a smile, "And you have the best teacher in the world with you." he smirked, making Natsu chuckle._

_"Who taught dad to play the guitar?" Natsu wondered._

_"Who taught me, eh.." he was lost in thoughts, "Your mother, June." he smiled._

_"Oh.." Natsu frowned._

_"Oi! Don't look so gloomy, your mother would've loved it if you learnt to play it." he said as he patted his head._

_"Really..?" Natsu looked up at his father's eyes._

_"Yeah, really." he said, "Now look, try playing the "A" chord again, but this time, don't grip it so hard..._

...And a year later I could already play. I couldn't reach my dad's level though." Natsu smiled.

_'His father sounds like a really nice person..' _She thought. She was jealous of such a parent, because she never knew her father.

"Where's your father now? Isn't he going to come back soon?" Erza asked.

Natsu sighed, his expression changed to a frown, "My old man.." he started, "He left when I was seven." he said. Erza was shocked.

"What happened? Do you know where he is?" she asked as she got closer to Natsu, making him sweatdrop and feel uncomfortable.

"Errr.. n-no.." he replied as he slowly moved away, Erza was still closing in on him, "But I'm trying to find him, though.."

"Can I help?" she continued.

"No, Erza, you can't. I'm sorry, but I've given up on him. He hasn't written or shown himself or anything like that for over ten years now. Why should I find him now?" he said, his expression saddening, "Anyway, I'm gonna go get some water." he added as he stood up, put his guitar on the couch and slowly walked towards the kitchen.

Erza looked at him as he slowly got up, passing her. She always thought that Natsu was a fun, happy person. He was, but he had his own issues. She noticed the glint of sadness in his eyes, she realized, that Natsu wasn't who he wanted everyone to believe he was. He truly was lonely. Even after ten years, the departure of his father was still hurting him. Erza felt something in her stomach, something that said: _'Stop him, Erza!' _and she did. Without a second thought, she grabbed his hand.

"Natsu.." she muttered.

He turned to her, but next thing he knew he was laying on the couch, Erza above him.

"E-Erza..? What are yo-" he was interrupted by the finger she placed on his lips, "shush" she whispered. They were close, really close to each other. Natsu could feel her whole body shiver. His heart was racing. He couldn't believe what was happening, but he would indulge. He would take this opportunity to be close to her. That's what he's always wanted.

He gently put his hand on her cheek, making her blush. She closed her eyes and slowly closed the distance between them, their lips inches from one another.

"I'm baaaaack! Natsu, let's play Pro-" Gray was interrupted by what he just witnessed, his eyes widened. Natsu was laying on the couch, Erza on top of him, their faces half a millimeter from each other. _'Oh shit..' _he thought.

Erza suddenly punched Natsu in the stomach, making him gasp for air, almost fainting from it. She quickly got up, her face's color could make the color of her hair go to shame.

"Gray.. you.. just now.. almost killed me.. indirectly.." he was saying while trying to breathe.

"Pfffft... Hahahahaha!" Gray started laughing, his hands on his stomach.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Both Erza and Natsu shouted at him, then turned to each other and Natsu got punched in the face, "WHAT THE HELL?" he exclaimed, while Juvia and Lucy entered the house.

"We're bac-.. What happened to you?" Lucy exclaimed while looking at Natsu, Erza blushed even more.

* * *

A few hours later it was already late and they were already getting ready to leave. Gray decided to leave his xBox to Natsu for the rest of the week, "Cuz you'd die of boredom without it." he said while exiting, Natsu almost cried from joy.

"See you later, Natsu" Lucy smiled, Juvia waved him goodbye.

"Yeah, laters!" he shouted.

Then finally Erza walked out of his house, she still had a blush from what happened earlier.

She then looked at him, already outside. "See you later." she said with a smile, but that wasn't enough for Natsu. He grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a hug, Erza was too surprised to resist, but hell, she didn't even want to.

"Natsu.." she muttered, "Don't give up on your father.. We'll find him." she whispered in his ear, Natsu only smiled.

"Thanks for visiting." he said, a feint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Yeah.." she replied while caressing his hair.

They stood like that for some time, not even noticing the three that were waiting for Erza. They were completely forgotten. It was only them two, enjoying the closeness they had. It was them, and the starry night's sky.

* * *

**AOAOAO! I loved this one. Hope you peeps enjoyed, I know I did. :3  
****Why the hell is it that while I'm writing, I have loads of things to type in the A/N, but once I've begun typing, everything just slips my mind? SO ANNOYING.**


	12. From Duels to Wars

"Midnight.. huh." Gray said to himself. He was walking towards school, holding his bag over his shoulder. He remembered what Natsu told him back when he was still in the hospital. Apparently, during their fight, Gerard mentioned Midnight and him telling him about Natsu, which peeked his curiosity to why Midnight did it, and to why is he even back in this city. "Whatever it is, it can't be good." Gray muttered with a sigh.

It was the start of December in Fiore, and all of Magnolia's already full of snow. Everyone was getting ready for Christmas, a lot of houses already had decorations on them. Gray never did like the start of winter, because he knew that a certain hot-head would surely go out of control soon after it started to snow.

"Graaaaay!" he heard a familiar voice calling him, he turned around to see his girlfriend, Juvia.

"Hey there." Gray smiled as she caught up to him, they hugged, kissed, and made their way to school while holding hands.

"What happened? You seem.. disturbed by something." Juvia wondered as she looked to Gray, seeing him lost in thought. "You've been spacing out this whole time.."

"What? Oh, hehe.." he tried to rub it off, _'It's better if she doesn't know about Midnight.'_ he thought, "It's nothing, just trying to figure out something about a game.." he said, while laughing and scratching the back of his head. _'Shit, she doesn't look like she believes me..' _he thought while sweatdropping as Juvia was looking at him, suspiciously, but she only sighed.

"You and your games." she pouted.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"Nooothing" she replied as she snuck a kiss in, making Gray blush.

"Don't do that! It's embarrassing!" he cried out, but Juvia only chuckled.

"How are those two?" Juvia asked.

"Who?"

"Natsu and Erza." she smiled.

"Oh..." Gray muttered as he started to shake, remembering what he had seen and what happened after that...

_..."I'm baaaaack! Natsu, let's play Pro-" Gray was interrupted by what he just witnessed, his eyes widened. Natsu was laying on the couch, Erza on top of him, their faces half a millimeter from each other. 'Oh shit..' he thought._

_Ten minutes later after Natsu regained his composure and tried out Prototype. "Oh.. wow.. this is actually pretty good!" he said with a grin on his face._

_"Told you." Gray started laughing, but he froze after he felt the piercing glare and killing intent behind him. He turned around, it was Erza:_

_"If you tell anyone.. YOU'RE DEAD!" she spoke directly into his mind.._

"...Dunno." he replied while sweatdropping.

"Really?" Juvia persisted.

"Yes! Really! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Gray shouted while his body started sweating all over at the thought of what would happen to him if Juvia found out.

"Are you okay?" Juvia asked him.

"Yes! I'm fine!" he replied.

"You don't look like you're f-" she was interrupted by a certain blondie.

"Heeeeey! Juvia! Gray! wait up!" Lucy shouted while catching up to them.

_'Thank God for that' _Gray thought, "Yo, Lucy." he waved at her and they started moving to school again as she caught up.

They were already near the school, where they met a certain redhead.

"Hey Erza." Lucy smiled.

"Good morning," she smiled at the girls, then glared at Gray, "You didn't tell anyone, DID YOU?" again she spoke directly into his mind, Gray shook his head and raised his hands in defense of this Demon that was before him. She nodded, "Good."

"Hmmm?" Both Lucy and Juvia tilted their heads, curious to what just happened.

When they entered the school yard, they saw Natsu, waiting for them, his hands crossed, his expression dead serious. "Gray!" he shouted while pointing at him, "Duel me!"

Lucy and Juvia facepalmed, but Erza was baffled because of what she just heard. She stepped forward, about to lecture Natsu about fighting in the school, and probably smack him some more, definitely smack him some more, but Gray raised his hand, indicating that she was to not interfere. "Fine." he replied.

"After school. The park." Natsu stated while turning around and walking towards the school, "You better show, popsicle" he added.

"What just happened?" Erza asked, still surprised and unsure.

"Don't ask." Lucy sighed, "You'll see after school." She said, knowing that Erza was intrigued enough to come and watch.

* * *

School was already over, Gray was walking towards the park, Juvia, Erza and Lucy behind him. He thought the weather wasn't bad, it wasn't cold, but enough to keep the tons of snow from melting. Once in the park, Gray saw Natsu, his hands in his jacket pockets. The girls stood under a tree, Erza was curious to see what would happen, and if a fight ensued, she'd kick both their asses, but Juvia and Lucy were only hoping they would get this over with so they could go home.

Gray sighed as he stepped forward, "You'll lose again, fl-" but before he could finish, Natsu took out a snowball from his jacket pocket and threw it, landing directly on Gray's face, which made Natsu grin.

"Back up those words, sn-" but before he could finish, he got hit by a snowball to his forehead. He was surprised to see how fast Gray was.

They started throwing snowballs at each other. In about ten seconds, about fifty snowballs were already in the air, some hit, some didn't.

"Ohhhhh!" They both shouted as they continued the barrage.

Some snowballs even made their way to the girls, but they dodged, barely.

"This is a warzone!" Erza exclaimed while dodging a snowball.

"Yup." Lucy nodded, "This happens every y-" she wanted to say, but a snowball made contact with her face, "Sorry Luce!" Natsu shouted as he continued to batter Gray with as much snow as he possibly could. Lucy only sighed as she wiped the snow off her face, then dodged another.

By this point, Natsu was going berserk, he started throwing snowballs everywhere, almost at the speed of light, Gray barely able to dodge.

One made its way to Erza's face, a slight tick formed on her head as she was about to kick Natsu's ass, but another ball hit the trunk of the tree the girls were standing under, making the snow from the branches fall on them. Both Gray and Natsu turned around to see what happened, only to start sweating. Only one thought was going through their heads: _'Oh shit.. we're screwed.'_

"NATSU!" The mountain of snow exploded as Erza shouted in anger, a dark aura around her, snow in her hands. Both Lucy and Juvia were in the same state.

After realizing what had happened, both Natsu and Gray started running for their lives, as it seemed a machine gun was firing snowballs at them, flying left and right.

"Team up!" Natsu said as they fist-bumped and covered behind trees.

Suddenly, a snowball went straight through the tree Natsu was standing behind, almost hitting his head. He looked through the hole the snowball had made, only to start sweating as he saw Erza charge at him. "You almost killed me!" he exclaimed as he started running.

"That's the point!" Erza shouted in a demonic voice as the chase began, snowballs still flying at Natsu, hitting him all over.

* * *

After a few minutes of running, Natsu got to a frozen lake which was all covered in snow, he almost slipped, then realized where he was, _'I've got an idea!'_he thought with a mischievous smile.

Erza finally caught up to him, "You're going to get it now!" she threatened him.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Natsu said while slipping his tongue out, trying to annoy her even more, which worked. A tick formed on her head as she charged forward, slipping on the ice, "Kya!" she shrieked as she fell headfirst into a mountain of snow.

_'Kya...?' _he couldn't believe what he just heard. "DAHAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu laughed, almost crying.

Suddenly, Erza stood up, then picked up the mountain of snow she fell on. Natsu had never seen this much snow in someone's hands, it was probably enough to kill him.

"E-E-E-E-E-E-Erza.. Stop.. please?...please? ERZA!" he shouted when the snow hit him face first, causing an explosion.

Gray had heard the explosion, he started running to the cause of it, still dodging the snowballs sent by Juvia and Lucy. He hoped that Natsu would be uninjured, hell, he knew that he would be injured, he hoped he'd still be alive. But right before he could step on the ice, two snowballs sent by the girls hit the back of his head and another one sent by Erza hit him straight on the face, causing him to fall on the snow, temporarily losing all of his senses.

The girls met up, happy for their achieved victory as they high fived, but that happiness was short lived as Natsu slowly stood up:

"What the hell are you celebrating? We're still up!" he shouted with a triumphant laugh, "Get up you slacker!" he called.

"Yeah yeah, I'm up." Gray said, already standing, calm, "You're in our territory now, don't expect such an easy victory!" he then said.

Both Natsu's and Gray's expressions changed, they looked like something out of a horror movie and the girls couldn't help but get scared.

"Ahhhhhh..!" Lucy shrieked as millions of snowballs were flying their way.

"Retreat!" Erza ordered and they started to run the opposite direction.

After the girls were finally out of sight: "Wow, that was close." Gray sighed with relief as he was trying to get back his breath.

"Aye.." Natsu replied, he was in the same condition as Gray was.

"They'll probably dig in." Gray said.

"Yeah, but I've got an idea." Natsu grinned, mischievously.

"Payback time." Gray started to laugh.

* * *

The girls were running as fast as they could, trying to not look behind them. Finally, they got tired and hid behind trees.

"We need to build a wall!" Juvia suggested, Lucy and Erza nodded as they started to collect snow and eventually built a five-meter wide wall, then reinforced it with water Lucy had with her, which froze.

"Haha! Try us now." Lucy smiled.

"Don't let up now! We need as much snow as we can get to retaliate!" Erza ordered. And so they did.. or overdid is more like it. They collected three whole mountains of snow, making palm-sized bullets out of them.

Suddenly, a snowball crashed, destroying one of the three mountains the girls had, "Mortar fire!" Erza shouted, when another of the snowballs hit Juvia and they hugged the wall they made.

"Bwahahahaha! That stupid wall won't help you!" Natsu shouted as he kept throwing snowballs into the air, barraging them. A few almost hit Erza.

"Why you!" She exclaimed as she threw a few snowballs over the wall, but to no effect, because Natsu hid behind a tree. Then moments later he continued the barrage.

"Don't move!" Erza ordered, "We're safe as long as this wall is separating us from them!"

And suddenly another snowball hit her shoulder, it was Gray, he flanked them with another barrage from their left side. "Thought it was gonna be that easy, did you?" he laughed as he kept throwing snow into the air, ignoring the wall and landing direct hits.

Eventually the girls were overwhelmed and started running to different sides of the park.

"Gray! Now!" Natsu shouted, Gray nodded, as they both started throwing snowballs at the trees, causing the snow on their branches to fall on the running girls, pinning them to the ground.

Erza managed to get away, running towards the lake. "You take care of these two, I'll get Erza!" Natsu shouted as he started running after her.

Gray sighed_, 'I hope that idiot doesn't get beat, I can't stand a chance against Erza alone' _he thought as he started sweating all over at the thought of what she'd do to him, not to mention what Juvia would do to him.

* * *

Erza just kept running, she knew nothing good was waiting for her if Natsu caught up, but she wasn't about to give up, she hid behind a tree and waited for the right moment.

Eventually she heard footsteps and jumped out just to see Natsu right in front of her as she burst a handful of snow directly on Natsu's face, causing him to fall on his back to the ground.

She pinned him down, climbed on top of him, and started throwing snow under his clothes. Then she took another gash of snow and stuffed it in his mouth, making his eyes pop out, almost choking him.

Natsu tried his best to resist the cold and the snow in his throat, and when he saw Erza stop for a second to catch her breath, he instantly grabbed her shoulders and flipped her around, pinning her down. He started to tickle her all over, not letting her rest.

"Ahahahahahaha! Natsu.. Ahahahaha! Stop.. AHAHAHAHA!" she said between laughs, tears forming in her eyes.

"Fine.. ahahahaha... Natsu, stop... ahahaha... I surrender.. ahahahahaha" and after those words, he couldn't help but smile and stop. He found Erza's blushing face cute as she rubbed the tears of her cheeks.

And then their eyes met, Natsu was gazing at her, passionately, Erza couldn't help but blush, even more so as his palms connected with hers, placing his fingers in between hers as he slowly leant towards her, closing his eyes. Erza remembered the moment they had at his place, before Gray interrupted them, she was waiting for it, she wouldn't admit it, but she was.

As he got closer, her heart started beating faster. She closed her eyes and was ready for what was comming next, waited for their lips to finally connect, but what came next, was what she never would've expected.

Snow from Natsu's hair fell directly on her face, a huge tick forming on her forehead, the only thought running through Natsu's head was _'I'm gonna die..' _and after the thought, he was instantly punched and sent flying while she got up, her face red as a tomato, her head itself steaming as she stomped off, leaving Natsu as he just landed on the ground, his leg twitching from the punch.

* * *

A good ten to fifteen minutes later Natsu wobbled back to the site where he left Gray, only to see him pinned to a tree, scared for his life, seeing how Juvia and Lucy were threatening him to surrender.

"Natsu! Help!" Gray exclaimed.

Natsu sighed, "No need, we won."

Both Lucy and Juvia turned to him, surprised at the claim when the winners were apparent.

"You didn't." Erza said, calmly.

"What? We did! You surrendered!" he glared at her.

"I didn't!" she raised her voice.

"You did!" He shouted.

"Prove it!" she shouted back.

"Wh-" he was interrupted by the people around them, looking at them, "ohhh, a lover's quarrel!" they heard, Natsu and Erza started blushing, but the other three only laughed.

They looked at their friends, surprised by the reaction. But soon the two started laughing as well. Natsu fell on his back, looking at the slowly moving clouds. _'Christmas is coming, huh..'_ he thought, _'It's gonna get real busy soon at school..'_he sighed.

* * *

**And it's done! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, been busy with school and stuff.  
****Hope you enjoyed! Review please, it's what keeps me going :3**


	13. Truth or Dare?

The bells above the door rang as Natsu entered the convenience store. He needed to buy a present for the "Secret Santa" event that Lucy had planned out. Ironically enough, he drew Erza, while she didn't tell him who she got because it was a secret. He knew that, that's why he didn't tell anyone that he drew her, but he was still curious. He couldn't decide what to buy her, but lucky for him, this convenience store had everything from groceries to other random stuff, and he knew the owners, who often gave him good bargains.

"Yo Gajeel." Natsu greeted the shoopkeep. He was a muscular figure with spiky long black hair and as much as Natsu found it weird, he didn't have any eyebrows. There were piercings above his eyes where his eyebrows should be and along his nose, which looked like nails. He had over five piercings on each of his ears too. Natsu thought that that look combined with the shopkeeper apron he had on looked extremely funny. He could barely hold himself from laughing every time he'd see him.

"What do you want now, Salamander?" Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Oi, I told you not to call me that!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Alright alright, don't start cryin' on me."

Natsu sighed: "Look, I need to buy a gift for someone, got any ideas?"

"Who?" Gajeel asked, curiously.

"..None of your business." he said muttered.

"Geehee, so you finally found yourself a girlfriend, eh?" the shopkeep smirked as he bumped Natsu's arm with his elbow.

"S-Shut up!" Natsu semi-shouted with a blush as he tried punching him, but the hit didn't connect as he simply moved away.

"You wanna go?" Gajeel asked, enthusiastically.

"Bring it!" Natsu shouted, but as he was getting ready to charge, someone walked in the store.

"Tch.." Gajeel pouted, "Welcome." he said as he went back to the counter. Natsu only sighed and went to look for a suitable present to get Erza.

He was looking through plushies, toys, jewels, various make-up, games, hell, food even. He just couldn't figure out what to get her.

"Gajeel.. I really need some help here.." Natsu sweatdropped at the thought of what Erza would do to him if she didn't receive a present.

"Go ask brother." Gajeel replied while helping the other customers.

"Crow's back?" Natsu asked, surprised, yet happy.

Gajeel nodded with a smile, "He's in the office." he said and Natsu went straight there, but before he could open the door, someone opened from the other side. A tall muscular man came out of the dark room. He had short black hair which was spiky at the back of his head. He had the letters "DSMK" tattooed above his right eye. He got out wearing black pants and white slippers, his shirt was unbuttoned. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a can of beer in his left hand.

The man got out, the light from the shop invaded his eyes, making him cover them while looking at the pink-haired boy standing before him through the gaps between his fingers.

"Natsu?" he asked while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yo Senji." Natsu smiled.

"It is you!" he said while patting Natsu's head, "Long time no see, pinky."

"Oh shut up you alcoholic." Natsu pouted, Senji only laughed, "What are you doing here? Didn't you become a cop?" he asked, surprised by the beer can he was holding.

"I did." he said with a smile on his face while pointing at the badge on his shirt's left pocket.

"So what the hell are you doing?" Natsu asked.

"Celebrating, look." he answered while pointing towards the dark room, Natsu took a peek and all he saw was a half naked blond girl laying on top of a table, panting. Natsu blushed as he instantly shot back from the room.

"Some people never change.." Natsu sighed as he regained his composure.

"And some people never grow up." Senji retorted. A tick formed on Natsu's head, but before he could say anything, Gajeel yelled:

"Oi, brother, get the hell out of the shop, you're scaring of the customers looking like that."

"Okay, okay, Jesus, can't a guy even walk around in his own shop?" he complained, "Hey, Natsu, you still smoke?" he looked at Natsu.

"Naw," Natsu shook his head, "I quit some time ago."

"Well good for you, still, let's go outside." He said as he walked towards the back exit of the shop, lighting the cigarette even before leaving, Natsu followed.

They were outside, both sitting on the bench that Senji had made. He called it "Senji's Personal Escape".. the guy would always go here when he was getting sick of the shop, and sometimes of his brother. Senji and Gajeel weren't related, but they considered each other family. Senji's grandparents adopted Gajeel when he was caught stealing from their shop. Apparently, Gajeel was abandoned by his parents and left to fend for himself. He had a hard life living on the streets. At first he was very rebellious, which was one of the reasons why Senji couldn't handle him. They fought a lot, but those fights would always help them get to know each other better. Over the years they eventually got close and Gajeel even started calling him "brother".

After a few minutes of silence, Senji sipped some of his beer and gave the can to Natsu who drank a bit too. He put his cigarette back on his lips as he began talking: "Natsu, I heard you fought Gerard.."

Natsu's eyes widened, "How the hell do you know him?" he asked.

"I was in my third year of FTH when he was in second." he replied, "If I remember, he was together with some redhead first year.." he was lost in thought for a second, "Damn it, I can't remember her name!" he exclaimed.

"Erza." Natsu said as he sipped some more beer.

"Yeah, that one." he said, but then realized, "Wait, so it was because of her that you got into that fight?" he asked, Natsu only nodded, still jugging down the beer.

"Could the Great Salamander be in love?" he rolled his tongue while saying those words.

Natsu almost chocked on the beer, his head fumed as he blushed, "W-w-what the hell is it with all of you? I'm not!" he semi-shouted while coughing.

"Sure you're not!" Senji laughed sarcastically while patting Natsu's shoulder, but he didn't even reply, he had something else on his mind as his expression changed to a serious one.

"Oi, Crow."

"Yeah?" Senji turned to Natsu.

"Could you look over her house for me? In case that bastard decides to show his face again." Natsu frowned, worry was evident in his eyes.

"Isn't there a cop car already stationed there till' they find him?" he asked.

"Yeah, there is.." Natsu muttered, "But I fought him, and I know that he's strong. That's why I don't trust anyone but you for that." he said while tilting his head to the sky, looking at the clouds.

"Fine." Senji smiled as he saw the look on Natsu's face, _'He must really care for the girl..' _he thought, "I'll speak to the higher ups tomorrow."

"Thanks" Natsu smiled as he gave him back his beer.

"You drank the whole frickin' thing!" Senji exclaimed as he shook the can.

"I'm helping you stay sober." Natsu grinned.

"Yeah, right. Turn eighteen first, pipsqueak." he retorted, "Damn it, now I need to get more.." he pouted.

"Wait a bit, I need to ask you something." Natsu said.

"What is it?"

"Ummm..." he was trying to find the right words.

"Spit it out already."

Natsu sighed, "I need to get Erza a present for Christmas but I can't decide what to get her."

The man was taken aback, "Wait.. You. Christmas. Present. Erza. Did I get that right?" the pink-haired nodded, "Who the hell are you and what did you to that retard Dragneel?" he asked.

"Shut up and just answer the question!" Natsu shouted as he punched his shoulder.

"I can only do one, you know.." he teased.

"You know what I meant!"

"Alright, alright" Senji laughed, "Dunno, what does she like?"

"Strawberry cake?" Natsu wondered that himself, he was surprised how little he knew about her.

"Then get her the cake." Senji replied with a uninterested look on his face.

"A cake as a present for Christmas? Are you frickin' stupid?" Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Hey, it's the thought that counts, right?" Senji said as he stood up, "Get her that and something else. Don't ask me what though." he added as he entered the shop. Natsu was lost in thought. _'Yep, I'm gonna die.' _

* * *

Meanwhile, Erza was already packing the gift she got. She bought _RED's_ latest album called_ Until We Have Faces_. She couldn't afford it herself, but Lucy helped her buy it, much to Erza's dismay, she never did like charity.

"I wonder if he'll like it.." she muttered with a blush.

"Of course he will, Natsu loves_ RED_." Lucy smiled, "I wonder who he drew though."

"I hope it's not Gray.." Erza sighed, "I don't dare imagine what he'd get him.."

"Probably another snowball shower..Achoo!" she said with a sneeze, "The cold starts acting up again even if I only remember it!" she exclaimed.

"Does that snowball challenge thing really happen every year?" Erza asked her, ignoring the sneeze as she remembered what happened a few weeks back.

Lucy nodded, "Yup, every time the snow first falls Natsu would always challenge him, and lose too. But this time was different I guess. We were the ones who won." She giggled. Erza didn't reply anything. She knew they didn't win, but she couldn't admit what had happened in her brief duel with Natsu.

"Erza?" Lucy asked as she got closer to her.

"Y-yes?" she was startled.

"Did anything happen between you and him?" she inquired.

"W-what? Who?"

"Natsu, of course, dummy." Lucy giggled.

_'Does she know? Did Natsu tell her? Did Gray?' _she thought with a blush as her eyes were running around the room trying to figure out what to tell her friend.

"So nothing happened?" Lucy sighed, Erza shrugged, she thought of how pathetic and weird the situation between her and Natsu was. It was two times now. Two times that they almost closed the gap between each other, yet always some stupid reason doesn't allow them to. Erza couldn't believe how fast she fell for him. She was the council president, the Titania of FTH, hell, some people even called her the Devil herself. She was supposed to be cold blooded, with a heart of stone, immune to those kinds of feelings, yet this kid, Natsu Dragneel, had broken through every single barrier she had set up around her heart.

Erza sighed, and then slowly explained what had happened between her and Natsu. Lucy was silently listening. After she was done, there was a brief yet awkward pause. Erza was waiting for the blondie to say something.

"...Lame.." was all Lucy said with a disappointed look on her face, which was met with Erza's glare, "Don't worry!" Lucy tried to save herself from imminent death, "He'll definitely do something to fix this!" She said with a sweatdrop, while Erza only frowned.

* * *

Natsu was looking through the shop as he held a strawberry cake with his left hand. He really was starting to fear for his life, but then he accidentally noticed a sort of pendant with a silver insignia of Fairy Tail High. It wasn't anything fancy, but Natsu knew that Erza loved the school enough so that the gift would actually save his life.

"Hey! Gajeel! How much for this one?" he called the shopkeep.

"On the house." Senji answered with a smile before Gajeel could say anything.

"Seriously?" Natsu asked as he got up and his eyes lit up, a grin and a slight blush on his face.

"Yeah. But you'll still have to pay for that." He answered while pointing at the cake.

"Thanks!" Natsu said as he went to the counter, "Can you pack this up?" Natsu asked Gajeel.

"What am I? A servant?" he pouted, but he still packed it up, and added a postcard with it, "This one's free too." He said with a mischievous grin.

Natsu flipped it over, and blushed, "Oi.. This is a Valentine's card."

"So?" he asked, plainly.

"It's Christmas, dumbass" Natsu retorted.

"Not for you, apparently." Gajeel laughed.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Natsu blushed.

"I guess we'll know soon enough, won't we, brother?" Gajeel turned to Senji, the grin never left his face.

"I doubt it, pinky here sucks at matters like these." Both of them laughed.

"Go to hell!" Natsu shouted as he placed the money for the cake on the counter and stormed out of the shop.

"You think we went a little bit too far with that?" Gajeel laughed again as Natsu left.

"Naw, that'll probably only boost his motivation." Senji answered with a smile. _'Bout time you got over it, Natsu..' _he thought.

* * *

The next day was the 20th of December, this was the last day of school before the week of Christmas holidays. Natsu was going towards the council room, where was the supposed meeting place of the gang. He entered the room, only to notice that he was the first one there. He made himself comfortable in Erza's chair, pretending that he was the council president and shouting at everyone.

"You! Clean my shoes! You! Do my homework! You-" he stopped when someone opened the door, it was Gray and Juvia.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gray asked while staring at Natsu.

"Waiting for you guys, apparently." Natsu sighed. Next one to enter was Lucy, then Mirajane with Elfman, then Loki and Cana. Eventually Erza entered.

"Seems we're all here." Lucy smiled, "Now, everyone call out the person who you're giving your present to." she said.

"Gray?" she asked, "Juvia." he answered.

"Juvia?" - "Elfman."

"Elfman? -"Mira."

"Mira?" - "Cana."

"Cana?" - "Loki."

"Loki?" - "Lucy."

"Mine's going to Gray." she stated, then asked the next person: "Natsu?" Natsu paused for a bit, "E-Erza." he muttered, Lucy couldn't help but be surprised at the development. Erza only blushed.

"What about you, Erza?" Lucy smiled mischievously, as if the answer wasn't obvious.

"Natsu.." she said, shyly.

Everybody's eyes widened as they witnessed how embarrassed both Erza and Natsu were. Well, everyone's except Lucy's and Mira's. Even Gray had a surprised look on his face.

"Now this is getting interesting.." he whispered in his girlfriend's ear, she only chuckled.

Natsu still sat on Erza's chair, thinking if he should go first, but something was holding him back, _'Why the hell am I sitting here still like some loaf..? I bet I'm like a tomato by now.. Damn it!' _he thought as he placed his hand on the table and stood up. Then he took the wrapped up box he had with him and came up to Erza.

"M-Merry Christmas.." he said as he gave her the present, his head was turned away, hair covering his eyes as his face was almost as red as Erza's hair.

"Thank you" she muttered with a blush and a slight smile as she took Natsu's gift and placed it on the table next to her while looking through her bag.

"Merry Christmas to you, too" she said, hesitantly, wondering what Natsu's reaction was going to be. The disk case was wrapped up, but she had purposely cut a bit of the front wrapping so that the band's name would be visible.

Natsu slowly accepted the gift, he was at a loss for words, but then he saw the name on the case, "_RED_?" he exclaimed, his blush changed into that of a child, a grin appeared on his face as his eyes lit up. Erza was literally taken aback by what she had just seen, never has she seen someone's mood change so fast before, "Thanks!" he said as he hugged her, making her blush even more in the process, and went to ask Loki if he brought his laptop.

Gray sighed, _'You frickin' idiot' _he thought and couldn't help but laugh, soon everyone was laughing. Natsu didn't even notice them as he was trying to pry the laptop from Loki and listen to the epicness he just got.

Erza turned to look at the present she got. She shook it, trying to figure out what it was. Cana noticed that, and came up to the beautifully blushing redhead.

"Why don't you open it?" Cana asked, curiosity showing itself.

Erza shook her head, "No," she smiled, "I'll open it once I'm home."

Cana only shrugged and muttered "Boring." before going back to Mirajane and Elfman, who were organizing a game they liked to call _Truth or Dare_. Oh this is going to be fun.

Natsu finally gave up on the laptop, Loki was relentless. He wanted to say something to insult him, but before he could, Mirajane spoke:

"Everyone! Let's play something. Could everyone sit down and make a circle?" She had a mischievous smile on her face. Natsu had a hunch that she had something planned, but curiosity got the better of him and he decided to participate. Everyone, including Mira, sat down on the ground, making a circle. In the middle of the circle Mira placed a bottle of water, Natsu instantly figured out what she planned and cursed himself for being this stupid and entering.

"Oh! Truth or Dare! It's been a long time since we last played this." Gray said, while eyeing Natsu. He couldn't help but laugh at how annoyed he seemed, "Who's first?"

"I'll go first!" Natsu said while grabbing the bottle. He spun it in the middle, waiting for who to ask and wondering what to ask in the process. The victim, was Cana.

"Cana, huh.." he grinned _'This is going to be too easy' _he thought, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Cana replied, confidently, not knowing what he'd ask.

"What's your daily alcohol intake?" Natsu asked, with a triumphant laugh. He knew that Cana couldn't answer that question, because Erza was there. Well, technically, she could drink, because she was nineteen, but the readhead wouldn't allow it because Cana was a council member, and believe me when I say, you don't want to defy the president.

Cana lowered her head and muttered, "I lost." while standing up.

"That was mean, Natsu." Mirajane frowned, Natsu only shrugged, "Hey, hate the game, not the player."

And they kept spinning the bottle and asking everyone questions and making them do the weirdest of tasks, when finally, Mirajane rolled Natsu. He was confident and he hoped that Mirajane wouldn't be like Gray, but..

"Truth." he said.

"Hmmm..." she smirked, "Natsu... is there anyone you like?"

Natsu sweatdropped_, 'Please don't play this game, Mira..!' _he exclaimed in his mind, but he wasn't about to give up.

He gulped and tilted his head to glare at Mira, a slight blush on his face, "Y-yeah.." he muttered.

"Who?" She then asked, her smirk changing to a weird grin.

"Hey, you don't get to ask me twice on the same turn." he said with relief.

"Fine." she pouted.

It was Natsu's turn to spin again, he had to quickly eliminate as many people as possible, because he knew that the next few questions they'd ask would end it for him right there and then. He spun the bottle, and who he got made him sigh in relief. It was Elfman, and he knew his weakness.

"Truth or Dare?" Natsu asked.

"A man always chooses dare!" he shouted, Natsu grinned.

"Okay.. Dance. Like a ballerina." he said, the grin not leaving his face. (**A/N: Holy Christ, Imagine Elfman dancing like a ballerina o.o**)

Everyone sweatdropped _'He can't do this.' _they thought in unison. Elfman stood up, ready to do what he needed, but the embarrassment of the thought getting to him, he shrugged, "Fine, Natsu, you win this time."

Gray spun it next. His victim was Erza, and something hit Natsu _'Shit.. Erza's in the same situation that I am!' _he realized while looking at her, though she seemed confident.

"Truth." Erza said.

Gray chuckled, "Is there anyone in particular that you like?" he said. _'Bastard' _Natsu thought while gritting his teeth.

Erza's expression unchanged, still as stoic as ever, "None of your business." she said.

"Erza.." Gray sighed, "That's not the way you play this game."

"I don't care." she said while sending a glare his way. Everyone sweatdropped, Natsu sighed in relief. _'If only it was that easy for me..' _he cried out inwardly.

Erza's turn to roll, she got Natsu.

"Truth." he said, he thought Erza wouldn't ask him the question that the others would, that's why he picked truth, he needed to play this smart, but..

"Who do you like?" she asked, the stoic expression never leaving her face.

Natsu facepalmed, _'NOT YOU TOO!'_

"A girl." was the simple answer.

"Name?" everyone asked, Erza included.

"Ask me if you get me again." he grinned, evading the question. And again, his time to spin.

He got Lucy.

"Truth." she said.

Natsu wondered what to ask her, when it hit him, "Lucy.. is it true that you have a collection of eroge?" he asked, remembering the few eroge games he had found in her drawers.

Everyone turned to look at the blushing blonde, surprised, disgusted maybe..? She didn't answer anything, just stood up and smacked Natsu on the head while going to get something to drink. _'Sorry, Luce.' _he thought. Natsu couldn't afford to lose this.

The next one to fall was Loki. Juvia literally drowned him by asking how much girlfriends he had, which wasn't a lot, to everyone's surprise.

Mira's turn, she got Natsu, unsurprisingly.

"Dare." he stated.

"Would you mind sitting over there?" She said, while pointing next to Erza.

Natsu sighed as he stood up, he slowly went next to Erza, and sat down, legs crossed. _'No pressure, I'm only sitting next to her, this happens often, right? Nothing to be embarrassed over..' _he thought, but the blush on his face was evident. Erza herself lost her stoic expression to a blush.

Natsu was in a bad situation right now. He knew that the next time he was rolled he'd have to quit. Because both questions would lead to revealing something he didn't want to reveal just yet. He needed to make someone lose, so he spun the bottle.

"Truth or Dare?" Natsu asked as the bottle stopped. _'This is gonna be interesting..'_

"Dare." Gray said.

Natsu was lost in thought. What could he do to make his rival lose? But then, he got an idea, which made him blush at the thought. He couldn't help but laugh out loud when he imagined Gray's reaction to it.

Natsu pointed his hand towards Juvia, showed his palm, and made a grabbing motion, "Go ahead." he grinned.

"Wha...!" Gray's head almost exploded, he was even more red than Erza's scarlet hair now, his head was literally fuming. Juvia was in the same condition, but a bit more willing.

"You.. pervert!" Gray exclaimed, sending a glare his way.

"No, I'm not. I'm making you into one." he laughed, amused by his friend's reaction, "Well? Do it or lose it." he said, eagerly.

Gray sighed, "Fine." he said, much to Natsu's surprise_. 'Don't do it, dumbass, I need you to lose' _he sweatdropped.

_***CENCORED***_

**Sound effects:**

_*Squish*_  
_*Moan*_  
_*Loki nosebleed*_  
_*Natsu punched in the face, sent flying*_  
_*Gray's triumphant laugh*_

"Take that, pinky!" he kept laughing and then sat down, ready to spin the bottle again.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Natsu said, while recovering from the punch that Erza sent him. He was observing the spinning bottle, trying to will it to stop somewhere else besides him. It was already stopping, Natsu sweatdropped in worry, but it went passed him, stopping at Mirajane. He sighed in relief.

"Truth." she said.

Mira had a plan, and Gray almost instantly took note: "Which couple in our school do you think looks the cutest in our school?" He asked her with a grin.

_'I'm going to kill you two' _fumed the annoyed Natsu.

"Erza and Natsu, of course!" She said.

Natsu could only facepalm, or more like facefist, those two were seriously getting on his nerves. Erza on the other hand, was blushing, madly.

Mira's turn to spin, she, much to his disappointment, got Natsu.

"Truth or-" she was interrupted by Natsu who was standing up.

"Neither, I quit." he said, while going towards the exit of the class, "Gonna go get a breath of fresh air."

Everyone just looked surprised at the sudden change of mood, while Natsu just exited. They already knew where he'd be, so Gray wanted to go talk to Natsu, and maybe apologize, but stopped by Mira bumping him in the arm, he turned to her:

"What?" he asked.

"Look.." She said while pointing at the standing up Erza, who grabbed her gift and followed Natsu out.

Gray only shrugged, "I'll check on them later."

* * *

Natsu was in his usual place, leaning on the rail on the edge of the school's roof. He was thinking what he would do to Gray after they all go home.. _'Oh the suffering I'll put him through..' _he thought with a demonic aura. But his mood only worsened when he realized that every move he made to get Erza to notice him was because of his friends interference. He did like the fact that his friends cared for him enough to help with these sort of things, but this was just ridiculous.

"Natsu." he heard a familiar feminine voice. He turned around to notice Erza, who was holding his present.

"Yeah? What's up?" he asked, trying to hide the smile caused by her appearing.

"Well.." she muttered, "I thought we could open your present together." she said, louder this time.

_'Okay..' _he thought, still unsure of the predicament, "Sure, why not." he simply replied.

Natsu sat down, back to the rail, Erza sat next to him, putting the present on the floor. Both of them started to unwrap it, and then opened the box. What she saw was a strawberry cake in a casing, and a small box on it with a postcard with hearts next to it.

"What's this?" She asked, surprised.

"Just read it" Natsu said, rolling his eyes at the thought of why it had hearts on it

She opened the postcard and read what's inside of it.

_Happy Valentine's day!_ - She didn't understand why it was a Valentine's postcard though.  
_Don't ask why it's a Valentine's postcard, it's a long story. Short version - the shopkeep from who I got it is an ass. D:  
Anyway, Merry Christmas!  
Natsu._

She looked at the postcard, then back at Natsu. She blushed at the fact that even some kind of shopkeeper had the idea that they HAD to be together, but Natsu only shrugged.

She put the postcard back in the box and then started drooling because of the cake and wanted to open it and dig in, but was stopped by Natsu who took the small box and showed it to her.

"Whoa, calm down," he said with a smile, "take this first and share the cake with your family later." the smile widened.

"O-okay.." she muttered, disappointed, but happy of the thoughtfulness of her friend. She slowly opened the smaller box. What was inside made her eyes widen. A small pendant with a silver insignia of FTH. She looked at him, surprised, he only grinned, "This must've cost a lot.." she said.

"You have no idea." He laughed while scratching the back of his head.

"Can you..?" She said as she turned around and took her hair to the front, revealing her neck. Natsu first couldn't understand what she was getting at, but blushed after realizing.

"S-sure.." he said, as he untied the string of the pendant and slowly put it around her neck then tying it up again as she dropped her hair on her back again, facing him.

"How does it look?" she asked. Natsu looked at her and he couldn't believe how well it fit her.

"Cute.." he blurted out, making her blush.

"T-thanks.." she muttered.

And then there was silence. Awkward silence, to be exact.

_'Come on, Natsu! Do it!'_

"Let's go back to before they miss us." Erza said as she slowly stood up, offering her hand to Natsu, which he took.

_'It's warm..'_

And they made their way to the exit, Natsu still holding her hand.

_'No..'_

Near the exit. Natsu's heart was racing, he didn't want to go back, he wanted to be here, with her.

_'That's it..'_

Natsu suddenly grabbed her waist and spun her around, making her back the wall near the exit, left of the door to the staircase. Before she knew it, he got close to her, breathing on her neck, inhaling her sweet strawberry scent, which almost intoxicated him. She blushed at the bold move of this kid, but she didn't resist. Truth be told, she was waiting for him.

"Erza.." Natsu muttered, "Truth or Dare..?" he added with a faint smile.

Erza was lost in thought, but quickly figured out what he meant.

"Dare." she smiled back as he slowly closed the gap between them, their lips millimeters from each other, when they heard a familiar voice on the staircase:

"Natsu! Erza!" Gray shouted, near the entrance of the roof.

"Not this time." Natsu whispered as he rammed the door to the staircase shut and kept it that way. He wouldn't let anything or anyone ruin this kind of moment for the third time.

"Natsu.." Erza said, reluctant to continue where they left off because of the man that was behind the door, but before she could say anything, their lips connected. Natsu wouldn't let her say anything. He couldn't care less about the guy complaining on the other side of the door to let him in. He even forgot about him. He waited for this moment for so long, he couldn't control himself anymore.

Erza's eyes widened as she tasted his lips. At that moment, she remembered Gerard. Why? She didn't know herself. That memory wanted her to break apart. But again, memories flowed in of the moments spent with the man in who's arms she was right now, of how he fought her past nightmares just to keep her safe. She slowly wrapped her hands around his neck, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his head, caressing his hair.

Then she closed her eyes and forgot everything around her. There was only the pink-haired lazy-ass immature brat that was with her, but she didn't want it any other way. Erza was his, and that was all she needed.

* * *

**NOTE: Senji, A.K.A. Crow is a character from an anime/manga called _Deadman Wonderland. _He's my favorite character in the series, and I figured I should add him in the mix!  
****Hope you enjoyed this chap, sorry that it took so long for me to update, hectic week and all.  
****And for everyone who hasn't noticed yet: I published a new story called **_Let it Burn, **It's a little different from this one, but in my opinion, interesting nonetheless.  
****Thanks for reading. :)**_


	14. You're not alone

**Sorry for not uploading anything sooner, It was yet another hectic week that my 11th year in school's done. But now I'm free to write as I please, SUMMER VACATION! AWWWW YEAAA! Enjoy.**

* * *

It was already dark as the cold winter in Magnolia seemed to stay calm. Snow was slowly and gently falling out of the clouds as the moon illuminated a certain high school.

Natsu was feeling as if this were all a dream in which he was holding the person he held most dear. The feeling itself couldn't be described as a simple crush, no, this was deeper, but it wasn't love, not yet. He let his feelings get the better of him as he hugged the girl in front of him tighter, his hands warming her waist, her hands warming his neck, their bodies warming each other. Her lips felt better than anything he had ever tasted or felt before, with a slight taste of strawberry, which didn't surprise him that much. He broke the kiss as the need to breathe was beginning to overwhelm him. Natsu then looked at her beautiful face which had a slight blush on it. He noticed that a tear was rolling down her left cheek. He gently placed his palm on the left side of her face cleaning the tear off.

'What's wrong, Erza?" he quietly asked with concern in his voice.

"Huh..?" she replied as she opened her eyes and saw the look on Natsu's face. Then she noticed that she subconsciously started crying, "Oh.. sorry." she muttered with a smile, giving Natsu the sign that it wasn't his fault, "Just happy, I guess."

The last four words made the man smile and he gently placed his head on her shoulder, enjoying the warmth coming from Erza's body. They stood like that for a few minutes, when the cold finally got to them.

"Natsu, It's cold.. Let's go inside." she said as she slowly pushed him away.

"Okay." he smiled. Natsu took the present he gave her and opened the door with his free hand letting her go in first. She went in and he followed, closing the door behind him. To Natsu's surprise, Gray was nowhere to be found. _'The idiot probably got the message'_he thought.

Both Erza and Natsu were just standing near the door to the roof in silence. The pink-haired teen was confused. It had been some time since he last felt something like this for someone and since the last time he was in this kind of situation. He didn't know what to do and that annoyed him to no end, when finally Erza's hand gripped his, placing her fingers in between his fingers.

"Let's go?" she asked with a smile.

"Y-yeah.." he replied shyly. Natsu couldn't believe how beautiful she looked and how she understood that he was having a hard time handling a situation like this.

And they made their way downstairs. To Natsu it seemed like seconds had turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days. It was as if his body had left this world and went to heaven. The warmth of her hand was bliss. Simply bliss. They were going down the stairs, not saying anything to each other, trying to let their feelings convey themselves without them trying to.

Finally, they were near the student council room. Erza had let go of his hand which made Natsu frown, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell everyone what had happened up there, or that they had become a couple. _'Wait.. have we become a couple?'_he thought to himself. He wanted to ask her, but she opened the door to the council room so he thought he should save the question for another time.

When they came inside, they were met with interested looks, though nothing was asked. It was as if they understood it, much to Natsu's dismay. The rest of the evening went on smoothly, they played some board game which was similar to Truth or Dare. Neither Erza nor Natsu participated. They wouldn't get caught in the same trap for the second time.

* * *

About an hour later, they were getting ready to leave. Natsu asked if Erza needed him to take her home, but she declined saying that she still had some council work to do and made Loki, Mirajane and Cana stay with her to help. Natsu didn't ask anything further when he saw how she made the three stay which almost gave him a heart attack. He, Gray, Juvia and Lucy left for home and the whole journey they were interrogating Natsu, asking what happened on the roof. Gray got a straight punch to the face from Natsu when he remembered what he did during the Truth or Dare game. The dark-blue haired teen knew he deserved it and much to Natsu's surprise, he even apologized.

"You're getting boring, droopy eyes" was Natsu's reply, which resulted in another fight between the two which quickly died down when Lucy and Juvia stepped in and kicked both their asses and after that they continued to walk home. Gray's house was the first they came across. Juvia decided to stay at his place and Natsu wanted to say something to try and annoy Gray but quickly shut up when he noticed the deadly glare Gray's girlfriend sent his way. After saying their goodbyes, Lucy and Natsu were heading home. Lucy had noticed that the whole time they were walking Natsu was spacing out. His eyes were closed and he had a faint smile on his face, a slight blush covering his cheeks. She thought she should break the ice and ask him what had happened that made him so happy even though she had a hunch:

"What made you so happy?" she asked, startling Natsu.

"Wha..? Happy? Me? I'm the same as always." he replied while scratching the back of his head. Obviously, Lucy wasn't convinced.

"Oh come on. You've been spacing out this whole time." the girl persisted. Natsu sighed and then shrugged, he wasn't about to tell her anything, but she didn't give up, "Something to do with Erza?" she asked, and by his reaction she could definitely tell that she hit the right spot. Natsu's eyes widened and a huge blush covered his face as he muttered something incoherent.

"What?" she asked, unable to hear what her friend said.

"We kissed!" he shouted and then covered his mouth when he realized that probably the whole neighborhood had heard him. A blush formed on Lucy's face, she couldn't believe that Natsu could be this bold. An awkward silence filled the air but Natsu continued, "Yeah, so we kissed, what's the big deal? It's not like we're a couple or anything." he said.

"What do you mean you're not a couple?" Lucy asked, confused.

"It's not like I asked her to be my girlfriend and besides, it didn't seemed like she enjoyed it." he muttered with a frown, but then earned a smack on the head, "Ow! What the hell's wrong with you?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Of course she liked it you idiot." Lucy semi-shouted, "And why didn't you ask her to be your girlfriend in the first place?" then added.

"I didn't get the chance!" Natsu tried defending himself.

Lucy sighed, they were already at her house.. or castle? "You better ask her." she ordered her friend as she opened the door to her home and entered while waving goodbye to him. Natsu was left alone with his thoughts. He wondered what he should do, ask her out or just plain ask her if they were a couple. After a few minutes of thinking he figured he'd wait until after the Christmas break was over to tell her how he truly felt and with that thought he made his way back to his home.

* * *

Erza was sitting at her desk trying to process what had happened with Natsu a few hours ago. Everyone had already left because there was no more work to be done, though Erza stayed behind. She wondered if she and Natsu were a couple, but brushed the thought off when she checked the clock to see how late it already was_. 'I should go home, I bet grandma's already worrying about me..' _she thought as she packed her bag, put her jacket on and left the room.

While walking down the school's halls, the memory of Natsu and her kissing crossed her mind again. It made her happy. Without her knowing she blushed and a smile crept on her face. Even though she didn't know if they could be considered a couple, she was happy. Erza thought she should wait for him to ask her first, but if by any chance he didn't, she would after Christmas break was over. And smack him around a bit for making her wait so long. The thought of it made her chuckle.

Ever since they first laid eyes on each other something in Erza clicked. It's as if this was fate or something, she couldn't fully understand it herself, but ever since that time she had hoped she could meet him and when she did, the girl was overjoyed, even though the first few days of them being together consisted mainly of using him instead of a punching bag. Erza reminisced their time spent together and couldn't help but feel happy. Then she remembered how Natsu fought Gerard and how she remembered the said person when she and Natsu were kissing. The redhead didn't know why she thought of him at that moment. Sure, the Gerard from two years ago really was similar to Natsu, but they were different. Totally different. Both in their personality and character. Erza hated herself for thinking of Gerard while being with Natsu and thought that he'd probably hate her too, but there would be time to find that out later. It was already late, so Erza fastened her pace, the pendant that Natsu gave her still on her, shining beautifully as the moon's light reflected off of it, making it shine in the darkness as if it was some sort of guiding light.

* * *

And soon four days had passed. It was the 24th of December, Christmas eve. Natsu was at home, alone. It was like this every year. He'd never get anything for Christmas or give anything and he'd always be alone. His friends were spending time with their families and no matter how lonely the guy felt he'd never disturb them for himself. Natsu had a small Christmas tree branch near his window which had a few decorations on it. Every year he decorates a branch just for tradition's sake and he'd be lying if he said that he didn't hope his father would unexpectedly return baring loads of gifts for his son. Though Natsu never did expect too much from the man. It's been ten years since he left. Ten Christmases he was waiting for him to return without warning, but he never did so why should this year be any different?

Natsu was sitting on his couch watching TV. He was checking through every channel to try to find something that didn't involve anything with a family, 'cause that would depress him even more. Finally he found it. Some sort of channel that, even in Christmas, was airing a horror movie. Weird, right? He put the remote on the table and simply watched. Horror movies were one of his favorites, he especially liked zombie movies, like the classic _Dawn of the Dead_ or the rather new show called _The Walking Dead_. Though the movie he was watching right now, in his opinion, was boring. He stood up and went to the kitchen. Natsu was barefooted, wearing his gray sweatpants and a plain white tee. Even though it was cold outside, it was warm in his house. Too warm for his liking. He opened the fridge and found a can of beer which he opened and drank almost as fast as he found it. Hey, It's Christmas and his eighteenth birthday's soon, so why the hell shouldn't he drink?

Finally, it hit twelve o'clock, indicating that it was the 25th, Christmas. Natsu threw the can to the trash and looked through the window. He still had some hope that his father would magically appear and scold him for drinking at the age of seventeen, but that didn't happen. He then gave a loud "Meh" and took off his tee as it was getting even hotter and went to lay down on his couch. The movie didn't interest him that much so he slowly fell asleep. Even in his dreams, Natsu dreamt of how Igneel, his father, would just appear out of the blue and stay with him. Natsu would, of course, beat the crap out of the old man for leaving like he did, but he would be happy and love him nonetheless.

* * *

Erza went to her fridge and took out the strawberry cake that Natsu had given her. She couldn't believe that she actually restrained herself from eating it and saved it for so long. She put the cake on her table where an elderly woman sat. She had long gray hair, wrinkles all over her face. You could easily distinguish that she was in her eighties. She had a simple blue robe on with white slippers. The woman looked at the cake and raised an eyebrow.

"Strawberry cake?" she asked with a kind smile.

"Yeah.. I got it at school. Remember the Secret Santa thing I told you about?" Erza replied, a smile covering her face.

"From your boyfriend?" the older woman asked, the smile turning to a mischievous smirk.

Erza blushed at the question, she denied it by shaking her head furiously, but she'd be lying if she said that she didn't like the guy who she got the cake from. "Grandma..!" she exclaimed. The woman couldn't help but laugh.

"Sensitive topic, huh?" she asked, still laughing, "So.. Is he your boyfriend?" her grandma persisted.

"I don't know.." Erza replied after a few seconds of thinking.

"What do you mean?" the older woman asked curiously. Erza explained the whole situation. She knew that she could open up to her grandma and that she would always give her granddaughter valuable advice.

"Well.. You two kissed, so doesn't that make you a couple?" the woman inquired, a kind smile on her expression once again.

"I guess." Erza shrugged as she sliced a piece of the cake and dug in.

"The boy.. What was his name? Natsu? How is he spending his Christmas?"

"At home, probably." she said, and then something hit her. Natsu was at home, but he was alone. From what she could remember, Natsu had been living alone for over ten years now and every single Christmas he would be alone. That thought alone made her frown and feel sorry for her friend. "Alone." she blurted out .

"Alone?" the woman asked.

"He's been living alone since he was seven.. His father left him." she added, making her grandmother frown.

"Poor boy.." was all she said.

And the clock hit twelve. It was Christmas. Erza's grandmother went to her room and then quickly returned while holding something in her arms. "Merry Christmas!" she said while giving her a red sweater she had made for her granddaughter.

"Thank you, grandma." she said as she received the sweater. A smile occupying her face at how well made the sweater was. Every year she'd receive a sweater from her and every year she would be delighted at the gift.

"Now, go to bed, honey. It's already late." The woman said with a smile as she went upstairs to bed herself.

"I will. Goodnight." Erza replied while looking at her grandmother. Erza went to shower and straight to bed. It was already two in the morning, and she couldn't sleep. She tried for several hours, but the thought of Natsu being alone just kept gnawing at her. She looked at her alarm clock, it was five in the morning. She got up from her bed and was lost in thought for a few minutes. Then she nodded to herself and quickly got dressed. She took out the same blue pants she wore on their first date, put on the red sweater she got from her grandmother and went downstairs. She noticed her parent going out of the bathroom. Erza stopped to explain where she was going this early in the morning, but her grandmother didn't give her the chance, she nodded, "Go to him." she said with a smile. Erza's face lit up at how understanding her grandmother was. She nodded back, put on her black heels, the same ones she wore to the date. Took her jacket and left.

She ran through the street, it was snowing really hard and the street was almost all snowed in. _'Okay.. maybe wearing heels wasn't such a great idea after all..' _she thought with a sweatdrop.

* * *

_"Merry Christmas, Natsu!" a man with red hair said as he held a toy plane in his hands._

_"Thank you, father!" the young image of Natsu exclaimed as he hugged his father and grabbed the plane and started playing with it._

_"Oi, don't get too excited, you need to go to bed." The man kindly said as he grabbed his son and let him sit on his shoulders._

_"But dad.." the boy frowned._

_"No butts, you'll get to play with it tomorrow morning." the man smiled again. He went to Natsu's room and made him lay down on his bed, putting the cover on him and tucking him in._

_"Dad.. could you tell me a bed-time story?" The boy asked with a slight blush._

_"Aren't you too old for bed-time stories, Natsu?" the man asked with a slight chuckle, "Okay.. Let's see. Ah! I know!" the man smiled, "Once there was a wizard guild called Fairy Tail and in that guild there was a fire mage called Natsu Dragneel.. -_

***BANG* **

_-The mage was taught his magic by his foster parent, the great fire dragon Igneel.. - _

***BANG* **

_-The boy loved his guild, he considered everyone in it as family and soon he became the strongest mage in the continent.."- _

***BANG* **

"What the hell..?" Natsu mumbled as he was woken up, his TV still airing some horror flick. He heard someone banging on his door. He slowly stood up, not noticing that he wasn't wearing anything on his upper body and slowly wobbled to his front door. He didn't even bother looking who was it that would wake him up so early, he'd just open the door and kick the person's ass right there and then. Natsu, who's vision was still blurry because he just woke up, opened the door and barely noticed a flash of red as someone embraced him.

_'Igneel?' _he exclaimed in his mind as his eyes widened, but then he heard it, the female voice that was calling his name.

"Natsu.." she said. Natsu looked down, and noticed long scarlet hair.

"Erza..?" he asked, surprised. She tilted her head so she could see his face, a blush and a smile on her panting face, "What are you doing here..?" he asked, still shocked by her sudden appearance.

"It's Christmas, and I remembered that you were alone and.." and then Erza noticed that she was hugging an almost naked Natsu. In light speed she punched him straight on the face and sent him flying through his house.

"W-What the hell?" he exclaimed while scratching the back of his head which hit his table.

"P-p-p-p-p-p-put something on!" she yelled, a blush on her face that could rival the color of her hair, steam coming out of the top of her head while she covered her eyes with her fingers.

"Okay! I will! Please don't kill me!" Natsu exclaimed while covering his face as he stood up. He took the same white tee he wore before and quickly put it on and turned to Erza, hoping she wasn't holding a knife or something getting ready to kill him.

"That's better." she said with a sigh as she crossed her arms, the blush still on her face.

"So, uhh.. what are you doing here so early?" he asked, still shocked, "It's like Five A.M.!" he added as he noticed the clock.

"I remembered that you were alone at Christmas.. so I thought I should keep you company." she muttered.

What was Natsu's reaction? He was overjoyed. His expression changed to a huge grin, a slight blush on his face. Finally, he would have someone by his side during this holiday, moreover the person who he had true feelings for.

"W-what is it..?" the redhead asked, surprised by the reaction.

"Nooooothing.." he teased as he slipped his tongue out, but then he noticed how pale she was, her lips turned blue from the cold, her whole body shivering, "Don't tell me, you've been running here in this cold..?" he asked.

"Well how else do you think I got here?" she replied with annoyance in her voice.

Natsu sighed, then came up to her, and much to her surprise, hugged her. "Idiot." he said plainly, but with a smile. Erza couldn't help but blush again as their bodies connected. She could feel the temperature of his body warming her up, soon it was as if she was never outside in the raging blizzard.

"You want some tea?" The pink-haired teen asked as he gently let go of her. Erza nodded and Natsu made his way to the kitchen while holding her hand and taking her with him. "Is black alright?" he asked again.

"Yeah.. thanks." she replied. Erza felt that their relationship had gotten better after what happened on the roof. They were talking normally now, not stuttering while talking. That was a start, atleast.

"What were you doing before I got here?" she asked while she sat down on a chair near a table.

"Sleeping." was the simple reply, "Until you woke me up that is." he turned to glare at her.

"I can leave, you know." she retorted as a slight tick formed on her forehead.

"If you do, you'll miss out on this awesome tea I'm making." Natsu replied with a chuckle. Erza let out a loud "hmpfh" as she turned her glance away to look at the decorated tree branch. It was neatly decorated, with lights going around it, fake candy on its smaller branches.

Natsu noticed the silence and thought he should get a dialogue going, "You know.. I dreamt about my father."

Erza looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "Your father?" she asked.

"Yeah, how we were celebrating Christmas when I was.. Five, I think." he said, his voice slightly shaking from the nice memory and the thought that it couldn't be the same now.

Erza slowly stood up, "What happened?" she asked as she quietly walked towards him.

"He got me a toy plane, you know? I think I still have it somewhere. Then he told me this bed-time story. It was a crazy one, like all of his stories.." he started talking as he didn't notice that his voice was getting even more shakier, when suddenly two arms wrapped around his stomach. It was Erza. She pressed her body against his and leaned her head on his back.

"Natsu.. You're not alone." she said with kindness and compassion in her voice and much to her surprise, she heard sobbing. Natsu was crying. For the first time since she met him, he was crying. Even after he got shot three times he didn't shed a single tear. Natsu hid his eyes with his hand as tears flowed down his cheeks.

"What's this? Why am I crying? Damn it.." he said in between sobs. Erza tightened her grip on him, letting him take his time to regain his composure. She was glad that she came here. Somewhere in her heart she knew that today he needed her. And her guess was correct. After a few minutes, Natsu put his hand on Erza's, indicating that he was fine. She loosened her grip and Natsu turned around to face her, leaning on the kitchen sink. He then wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks.. Erza. For being here." he whispered, making Erza smile. And again, a few moments later, they both loosened their grips so Erza could back away a bit to look at Natsu.

"Hey.." she said with a smile.

"Yo." Natsu replied, "Don't worry, I'm fine now." he added as a smile made its way to his face.

"You sure?" Erza asked. She didn't seem too convinced.

"Yeah, I'm sure. But hey, let's change the topic.. this is depressing." he said with a quiet laugh as they were both still holding each other.

"Well.. what do you want to talk about?" the girl asked.

"How was your Christmas?" Natsu inquired.

"With my grandmother. She liked you cake" Erza said with a chuckle.

"Oh so you actually managed to save it? I'm proud." he laughed again, this time slightly louder.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" she asked playfully.

"Nothing." he teased her as he pushed her head on his chest. Then he was lost in his thoughts. He was with the girl he liked. Alone. In his home. This was the perfect time to ask her. But he was hesitating. Why? He didn't want to be rejected. The great Salamander, Natsu Dragneel, feared rejection. The thought itself made him want to mock himself to death.

"What are we to each other, Natsu..?" Erza suddenly asked, startling him.

"Uhhh... What do you mean?" the boy asked as a blush formed on his face. He understood what the redhead meant, but he couldn't believe that she'd ask such a question. _'So un-Erza-like..'_he thought.

"That's exactly what I mean. We went on a date, we held hands, we even kissed. Every single one of our friends thinks we should be together and they're sparing no expense trying to make it happen." Erza sighed, "Even my grandmother thinks we should be together!" She added.

"Even your grandmother?" Natsu asked, he was genuinely surprised, "I'm flattered." he added with a smirk.

"Hey! I'm not joking!" Erza pouted as she let him go and turned her glance away. She wanted to say how much of a coward he is for not doing what he should do. It was obvious what he should do, right? So why doesn't he do it? Those kinds of thoughts were running through her head. She wanted to say something, but before she could she felt Natsu's hands on her shoulders and him looking her straight in the eyes.

"Erza." he said, "Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked. The question startled her. Sure, she wanted to hear it, but not right after wanting to rant about it. The question caught her off-guard.

"Wha- What do yo-.." her voice was stuttering as her eyes were going all over the place. And finally, her eyes met with Natsu's. She noticed that he wasn't joking, his expression dead serious. She sighed, regaining her composure, then gave him a smile as she replied: "Yeah.."

And that was all that Natsu needed. His hands shifter from her shoulders to her waist, pulling her to him and kissing her on the lips. Erza's hands wrapped around his neck as she accepted the kiss and returned it in full. Finally, they were together. Finally, they could call each other more than friends. The rising sun shone on their faces, making them cover their eyes as they broke the kiss. Natsu couldn't help but smile as he saw Erza's beautiful blushing face. It was the second time he'd seen it. Only the second time. And he was glad that now he was with her, because he could see it again.

"Merry Christmas." Erza said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah.. Merry Christmas.." Natsu replied he tilted his head so their lips could meet again.

* * *

**I hope you people liked this one. And I've got to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing this up untill now. I hope I'm getting better. Oh yeah, that reminds me. It's almost a month now. Almost a month that I've been part of your awesome community and giving you stories that I hope you actually enjoy. So I'd appreciate it if, when you're reviewing this chap, you could tell me if I'm improving or whatnot. Would just be interesting to know. :)**


	15. Payback

**READ PLEASE: Hey People! Sorry for not updating sooner, I just didn't have the time or energy. Spending 14 hours in planes and 15 something more hours in airports does that to you, especially when the planes are always cramped up and your height is above average, sleep is out of the question as your knees are constantly hurting from the lack of space.. I hate flying.**

**Anyway, back to the point, this chapter is more or less a filler and I'm sorry for that, I needed to update you that, in the upcoming two months, the speed at which I update might be drastically reduced (Even though it's lame anyways..) because I'll be spending the next two months in the US, working. Though I'll try my best to update as soon as I can, sleep be damned.**

**Anyway, enough of me ranting, enjoy.**

* * *

**_7am, waking up in the morning_**_**  
**_**_Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs_**_**  
**_**_Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal_**_**  
**_**_Seein' everything, the time is_****_goin'_**

And then there was a loud grunt as Natsu rolled to the other side of his bed, pretending not to hear that awful ringtone.

**_Tickin' on and on, everybody's rushin'_**_**  
**_**_Gotta get down to the bus stop_**_**  
**_**_Gotta catch my bus, I see my_**_** friends**  
_  
"Oh for fucks sake, SHUT UP!" Natsu growled as he covered his ears.

**_Kickin' in the front seat_**_**  
**_**_Sittin' in the back seat_**_**  
**_**_Gotta make my mind up_**_**  
**_**_Which seat can I take?_**

"I'm gonna fucking kill somebody.." Natsu growled again as he leaned up to get the phone.

**_It's Friday, Friday_**_**  
**_**_Gotta get down on Friday_**_**  
**_**_Everybody's lookin' forward to the weeke-_**

"WHAT?" he shouted as he picked it up, still grogy.

"Good morning!" a familiar voice said.

Natsu sighed after realizing who had woken him up so early, he couldn't be mad at her, could he? "Mornin', Erza.." he yawned, "What do you want?" he asked, still annoyed.

"Time for school, get up." she ordered.

Natsu grunted again. Who's fault was it that he had to go so late to bed yesterday and could barely get any sleep? Of course his girlfriend's, who made him do his holiday homework on the last damned day of his vacation. Well, sure, if not for her he wouldn't have even done it, but still, he was pissed. Even more so at the ringtone she made him use.

"You do realize that this goddamn ringtone is killing me even more than the fact that I haven't had any sleep, right?" The boy complained.

"That's what you get for making us late." the voice on the other side of the line chuckled.

This probably requires an explanation. A few days after they got together, Erza and Natsu went on a date. They had ordered tickets to a movie called _Project X_ (Natsu wanted to see it, REALLY bad) and they were fifteen minutes late because on the way to the cinema Natsu saw a music shop and was eying their merchandise."Hey, we didn't even miss anything even if we were late.." he tried reasoning with her.

"No!" she replied, "We missed the whole beginning." then complained.

"Which I heard was boring anyway." he persisted, "And don't you think this punishment's too much? I mean c'mon.. _Friday_? REALLY?" Natsu cried out.

"You can change it..." she stopped to think, making Natsu believe that he could change it now, getting his hopes up, "After your birthday." Erza then added. Natsu's jaw dropped. Sure, his birthday was this week, but the thought of having this ringtone on for even a few hours killed him, especially knowing that Gray knew about this and was calling him every half an hour just to embarass him. Unsurprisingly, it was the same with Erza, and Lucy, and Juvia.. With everyone, basically.

"Erza.." Natsu grunted, but before he could say anything he was interrupted:

"Anyway, I have to get ready.. see you at school?" his girlfriend asked.

"Ugh.." another grunt, "Fine." he added as he pressed the red button and threw his phone aside, reluctantly getting up from his bed and going downstairs to take a shower and get ready for school.

* * *

At school, Natsu was as grumpy as ever. His phone was going off every five minutes with the _Friday _song that Erza made him use and the worst part was that he couldn't turn the sound off. Weird right? The student council president, Erza Scarlet, made a student, her boyfriend, take his phone to school and she didn't let him turn the sound off. Not very president-like, huh?

Natsu's hands were in his pockets, ready to press the red button every time he'd feel his phone vibrating so nobody could hear that ringtone. As he was going through the school halls he saw Lucy and waved at her. A certain dark blue-haired teen seized that opportunity and called Natsu, making the same song go off. Everyone in the hall looked at Natsu, surprised, disgusted and whatnot. Natsu didn't even care anymore. He was going to punish his torturers in a way that they could never imagine when this was all over. He went into class and got ready for the lesson, again his hands in his pockets grasping his phone.

"Hope you all had a great holiday." Gildarts said as he entered the classroom. "Has everyone done their homework?" he asked, the class nodded, Natsu included, "Even you, Natsu? I'm surprised. Read the answers." he ordered.

Natsu stood up and took his notebook with both his hands and started reading. The answers were perfectly correct, which surprised Gildarts and made him a little suspicious. It was obvious that someone had helped him, but he would've never guessed that that someone would be the council president herself.

"That was pretty good, Na-" he was interrupted by a certain phone's ringtone.

"SHUT UP DAMN YOU!" Natsu shouted as he took his phone out of his pocket and slammed it against his desk, almost breaking it. The whole class bursted into laughter while Gildarts only sweatdropped.

"I didn't think you liked that kind of music, Natsu.." he muttered as he tilted his head down, "I thought I raised you better than this.." he sobbed.

"Die!" Natsu shouted again as he threw the said phone at his teacher's head which hit him straight on his forehead. Gildarts didn't even move, the depression of what he had heard and seen was too deep for him to notice anything. Natsu went to pick up his phone and left the classroom. He needed to go to the bathroom and punch himself some because he got distracted so easily and brought this problem upon himself.

A few minutes later he returned to class, seeing that nothing had changed. The whole class started laughing again as they saw Natsu walk in and saw his reaction to Gildarts who was still weeping. Natsu came up to him and smacked him on the head, "Someone made me!" he exclaimed.

"Still..." Gildarts weeped.

"Screw this." Natsu cursed and lucky for him Gildarts didn't even notice.

* * *

After the lesson was over, Natsu stormed out of the class to find a certain redhead. He found her in the student council room, sitting near her desk taking care of her paperwork. He went to her table, and slammed both of his hands on it. "Let me change my ringtone! This is unbearable!" he exclaimed.

"Well hello to you too." she replied as she leaned in to kiss him, but Natsu took one step back.

"Don't ignore me!" the boy pouted.

"Don't be such a sore loser…" she rolled her eyes. Everyone in the room was surprised. Both at Erza trying to kiss Natsu and at their conversation. Someone's standing up to Erza. Okay, not standing up, shouting at her. And she's not giving him a beating. Moreover, she tried to kiss him? The council members were seriously stumped.

"Bathroom, be right back." she said as she stood up and left. Natsu noticed that she left her phone on her desk. A mischievous grin formed on his face as his eyes glared at the phone. _'Two can play at that game.' _he thought with an evil "muhahahaha" laugh. He took her phone, and started clicking on it, the grin never leaving his face. Finally, when he was done, he turned on the phone's sound and left it at the same place Erza had left it. Natsu then turned to the council members standing behind him.

"NOBODY.." he noted the word, "Saw that, got me?" he said with a demonic voice, a dark aura around him as his razor sharp teeth and red eyes showed, shadows creeping around him. The people who were being glared at winced and started sweating at the presence of this demon. They nodded and quickly ran out of the room, making Natsu chuckle at the thought of what would happen next.

Natsu figured he shouldn't even wait for her, just to show her how angry he was with her, even though he wasn't. Sure, the ringtone was annoying, but nothing to be angry over. And the fact that he would get her back like this made him so happy that he didn't even notice that he was walking through the hall with his phone ringing. Oh those Fridays..

* * *

Erza came back to the council room. To her surprise, Natsu wasn't there. She figured he was angry, but the birthday gift she'll get for him will more than make up for this torture. She giggled at the thought. Finally, the redhead noticed that she was alone in the council room. Everybody had left. But the strange part was that they left their stuff behind, as if they were rushed by something. Erza didn't pay much attention to it, it was break time so they'd return eventually and if they didn't – there would be hell to pay.

Erza checked the schedule that Mirajane had made for her, it was time to go through the classes and check who had shown up now after the holidays. The one's who didn't would get an unexpected call from the said president and if they couldn't give her a decent excuse as to why they're not attending their lessons and are making their holidays longer – there would, again, be hell to pay.

She took her phone, placed it in her shirt's pocket, took the list of classes and stomped out of the council room, unaware that a certain someone had tampered with her phone.

* * *

Natsu was sitting on his chair in class, trying to figure out the best way to prank Erza, _'Council room? No, too boring. Teachers lounge? Would be tricky getting her there out of the_ blue...'he kept scratching his head, Natsu never was good at planning.

Gildarts seemed like he had already gotten over Natsu's phone's ringtone, but still every time he'd glance at Natsu he'd give him a look of disappointment, which the said pink-haired teen had grown to ignore, through a lot of effort though.

Suddenly, the door to the class slammed open, "I'm sorry for the interruption. I'm here to check who's absent." Natsu heard a familiar voice as Erza entered the classroom. Their eyes met for a second, igniting a faint smile on the redhead's face before she turned to the rest of the class and started to silently count everyone while sometimes tilting her head to check the list of students.

_'This is perfect!' _Natsu exclaimed in his mind as his eyes lit up, he turned to face Gray, "Oi, gimme your phone." He said.

"What? Why?" Gray asked, confused.

"Just give it here."

"Fine, here." Gray surrendered and passed him his phone, unaware of the imminent revenge that would soon come his way.

As soon as Natsu grabbed hold of the phone he turned back to the front of the class and hid the phone under his hands, making sure that the sound was turned off. He then started browsing through Gray's phone book, _'"My lovely queenXXXX"… Wait, that's Juvia's number. The heck? Really, Gray?'_ Natsu facepalmed. And after a few seconds of searching he finally found it and clicked the green "call" button as a mischievous grin covered his expression. _'Payback time.'_

Erza finished counting. Everyone was present, which disappointed her a bit. She turned to the teacher, but suddenly feel her phone vibrate in her pocket. She remembered that she had turned the sound off, so paid no attention to it. The caller should've known better than to call the student council president at school hours. "Okay, everyone's present, again, sorry for th-" she was interrupted by the sudden ringtone which erupted from her phone.

_**Damn I'm a sexy** **bitch.**_

Then there was silence. It was as if something died. Everyone's glances were pointed at Erza who just stood there, both stumped and embarrassed. She didn't know what the hell just happened.

"-for the interruption. Have a nice day." She tried ignoring it and turned to walk away, the dead silence and the awkwardness still present.

_'Oh it won't be that easy' _Natsu grinned.

_**You boys can see me  
'Cuz every girl here wanna be me  
Yes I'm a Diva! Fella's scream and I wanna**** meet'cha!**_

By this point, Natsu had trouble concealing his laughter. He had to if he wanted to keep his head though. He made sure to find the version of the song which highlighted the lyrics and not the audio itself.

_'W-W-W-W-W-W-What the hell is going on?' _Erza exclaimed inwardly as she grabbed her phone and madly pressed everywhere just to turn it off. Natsu took that as a hint and threw the phone he held back to its owner, "Good luck." he winked, Gray's jaw dropped.

_**The way my booty's moving you can't take no more  
Have to stop what you're doin'; Tryin' to pull up close  
If you wanna find the words to describe this girl. You. Best. Be** **respectful!**_

_**Damn I'm a sexy Bitch!**_  
_**A sexy**** Bi-**_

And she finally managed to turn her phone's sound off. She was panting madly as her face blushed to the point of its color mimicking her scarlet hair. After the embarrassment slowly started subsiding, it was replaced by anger. Who would dare put this kind of ringtone on her phone, moreover call her during a lesson? She checked the phone. The caller was… Gray? She turned to him, his face was pale and he was sweating all over, his hands raised in a defensive position.

"Gray..!" She whispered in a deadly tone.

"Erza! Wait! Let me explain! It wasn't m-" but before he could finish his face met Erza's foot. Natsu had no idea how fast Erza got to Gray, but he didn't care. He was overjoyed, both at the fact that he got Erza, and that it wasn't him who's getting beaten up, but Gray. '_Two birds with one stone!' _he smirked, but made sure to quickly change his expression to a surprised one as Erza's glance shot towards him. His seat was behind Gray's after all.

"I never knew you listened to such music." Natsu deadpanned.

"I don't!" Erza exclaimed as she smacked Gray again, not noticing that he had already lost consciousness. This moment, to Natsu, was golden. Heck, it was better than golden. _'Oh the sweet revenge.'_

As Erza was smacking Gray around, ignoring both Lucy and Juvia who were desperately trying to pry her off of him, something struck her. How would Gray change her ringtone? Moreover, why would he call her so obviously? And what's the motive behind all this? Surely he knew he'd be beaten to an inch of his life. Realization struck her again.

"Natsu.." she whispered with the same deadly tone, "This wouldn't happen to be your work, would it?" she asked as she tilted to set her gaze on him, but to her surprise, he wasn't there.

"No, Erza! Definitely not!" She heard Natsu shout. He was already at the exit of the class sticking his tongue out, ready to run for his life.

A tick popped on Erza's forehead, "NATSU!" She shouted and literally stormed through every desk, chair and student in her way. Natsu began running, leaving his bags behind. He knew that stopping now meant death.

"Okay… Well that was interesting." Gildarts said, still shocked. The whole class sweatdropped not minding the unconscious Gray, who apparently stopped breathing.

* * *

A good thirty minutes later Natsu had already reached his limit. He was in the school's gym area, panting, trying to regain some of his energy, hoping that by some slim chance he had lost the person he was running from. If he didn't know any better, he'd call the said person Death herself.

"There's no running away now." He heard a voice which sent shivers down his spine. This wasn't going to end well for him.

"Erza… We can still talk about this." Natsu pleaded as sweat ran down his face.

The redhead entered the gym area, where she saw her boyfriend panting for air, cowering in fear, "Talk? Really? After the stunt you pulled?" she asked.

"You got to admit, that was a good prank though." Natsu said while scratching the back of his head.

"Good prank my ass!" she exclaimed as her foot met Natsu's face.

"Oi! Your ass ain't no prank, though it is good." The pinkette grinned.

"Wha-" Erza blushed, "Shut up!" Another kick to her boyfriends face.

"C'mon! Can't you take a joke?" Natsu exclaimed

"Oh so my rear's a joke now?" Another kick.

"Hey! I didn't mean it like tha-" Another kick, "Would you sto-" and another. Ouch..

* * *

"You know, if you'd put half the time you put in your pranks to your studies, I wouldn't need to help you with your homework." Erza said, panting after about an hour of beating her boyfriend to a bloody pulp.

"Hey… pranks are more fun" Natsu grinned. He was laying on the ground, all battered and bruised, about ten bumps steaming on his head. He was panting and grunting heavily, "I think this is the first time someone has hurt me so much." He groaned as he slowly stood up.

"You deserved it." Erza deadpanned.

"Even if I did, the prank was good." He managed to show a grin through all the pain.

"No it wasn't! That was torture! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?" the girl exclaimed.

"Torture? Having the _Friday _ringtone on for the whole week is torture. And don't even get me started on embarrassment, you had it easy." Natsu retorted, which earned him a punch to the gut, "Can't we talk this over, for once?" he groaned in pain.

Erza realized that whenever Natsu did something to annoy her, she would always, ALWAYS resolve it with violence. She knew it was wrong, but she didn't want to admit it. She pouted, crossing her arms and turning her head away. Natsu noticed it and sighed, then slowly wobble towards her from behind and wrapped his hands around her waist, leaning himself on her and his head laid on her shoulder.

"You women like to believe you're always right, don't you?" he whispered.

"We don't like to believe, we just always are." She corrected him, which earned another sigh from the pink-haired boy.

"Whatever." He complained, earning a chuckle from his girlfriend. They stood like that for a few minutes, enjoying the closeness of each other. They didn't need words, the sound of their heartbeats were enough to convey their feelings to each other. The silence was bliss, until he spoke:

"You know, you'll have to help me to the infirmary. I can barely walk…"

* * *

**Even though this was a filler, I hope I made you, the readers, smile at least:)**

**And FYI: About the _Friday _song. I'm not bashing Rebecca, I'm bashing the song, so don't start flaming me, kaaaay? D:**


	16. Birthday

**I got a holiday so I figured I should update this. From now on I'll probably be updating every weekend but I'm not sure if I'll be able to update both Let it Burn and this one, I'll try though. Oh, and please do show Let it Burn some love! Thanks.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Friday. January 9th. The day before a certain pink-haired boy's eighteenth birthday. After the incident with Erza's ringtone, she let the said teen change his ringtone, after a lot of apologizing and begging of course. Natsu was standing outside the school, waiting for his girlfriend's council meeting to end. And without much waiting, it did, and a scarlet-haired beauty exited the school and met up with her boyfriend.

"Hey." Natsu waved at her with his signature toothy grin.

"Did you wait long?" Erza smiled.

"Naw, my last lesson ended like fifteen minutes ago." Natsu replied as Erza pecked him on the cheek. They held each other's hands as they exited the school area, many of the first years who were leaving for home looking at them in awe and shock. Shocked by the fact that the Titania of FTH had a boyfriend, moreover one of the school's strongest and fiercest second years, Natsu Dragneel, who was often compared with the feared delinquent Salamander, and awed by the fact at how good they looked together. Erza's face covered with a slight blush and a smile as Natsu complained how his best friend, Gray, could be so stupid at times.

"He's still scared to take his phone to school after that little prank." Natsu sighed, "Ow!" he exclaimed after Erza pinched his hand, "What was that for?"

"Hmpf" She pouted as she turned her head away, pretending to still be mad because of the little stunt Natsu pulled with Erza's phone.

"Hey… Don't tell me you're still mad?" Natsu frowned with a sweatdrop.

"Of course I am! You could've, at the very least, used a song without the B word."

"Nothing else than that song came to my mind in that short time you were away!" Natsu defended.

"_I'm sexy and I know it?_" the redhead suggested.

"Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle?" He mimicked the music video, making Erza chuckle, "Anyway, how was the council meeting?" he asked as they sat down on a bench in the park close to the school. Even though it was January, most of the snow had melted after Christmas, the temperature rising to a meager zero.

"Exhausting." She sighed as she leaned on Natsu, placing her head on his shoulder, "It's the third year's party two months from now."

"Party?" Natsu asked surprised. He had no idea such an event was hosted.

"Oh that's right, you wouldn't know, what with you skipping school last year." Erza stated angrily, pinching Natsu's cheek.

"Hey! I had my reasons." Natsu exclaimed as he rubbed the sore cheek.

"Well, in any case," Erza shrugged it off. She knew Natsu didn't like to talk about this topic and she didn't pursue it. She figured he'd open up to her eventually, "even though it's two months away, there're a lot of events to organize prior and during."

"You need any help?" Natsu asked.

"Now? Not really. Though I'll ask you if something comes up." His girlfriend smiled.

"So wait, let me get this straight. This party's gonna be something like a prom, right?"

"Basically, yes." Erza nodded.

"Who are you going with?" Natsu asked with a smirk.

"Oh, I don't know. There's this second year with unusual pink hair, I forgot his name though…" she smirked back as she leaned on him even more, resting her head on his chest.

"How're his looks?" Natsu asked as he placed his hand on top of her head, caressing her beautiful scarlet hair.

"I'd say… average." Erza replied, which made Natsu laugh.

"Too bad, I heard he has a girlfriend." He replied cheekily.

"Really? Who's she?" Erza asked, opening one eye to see the expression on Natsu's face.

"I heard someone say she's the council president of our school."

"Hey, I'm the president." Erza smiled.

"So wait, you're two-timing me?" Natsu exclaimed with a frown.

"Of course not, silly." The redhead chuckled as she got up and flicked him on his nose.

"So who's that pink-haired second year you were talking about?" Natsu asked, confused.

"…Seriously?" Erza sighed, then stood up, "Let's go." She stated as she started walking.

"What did I say now?"

While walking home, they were talking about different topics, but mostly about the upcoming party. Much to Natsu's disappointment, Erza hadn't brought up his birthday even once. Could she have possibly forgotten? That thought made Natsu frown inwardly, but he didn't show it.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Erza asked with a smile as they were near her house. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she leant in, their lips connecting with a passionate kiss.

"Definitely." Natsu replied with a smile on his face, breaking off the kiss for a split moment before resuming and returning it in full while wrapping his hands around her waist, tugging harder, making her come even closer.

"Has anyone told you that you're a great kisser?" Erza asked with a chuckle.

"Someone just did." He smirked as they hugged for the last time before reluctantly letting go of each other. "See you." Natsu waved and turned around, walking towards home.

"Yeah." Erza smiled before entering her own home.

'_She's gonna have hell to pay if she forgets._' A tick formed on Natsu's head from the thought alone.

* * *

The next morning Natsu was met with tons of messages on his phone, all of them about his birthday. There was a message from Mirajane, Cana, Elfman, Senji, Gajeel, Levy and many others. Hell, even Gildarts!

'_How the hell did that geezer get my number..?_' Natsu sighed.

But the people who mattered most to him didn't message him. He felt disappointed to say the least. Yet he had no idea that…

Natsu heard someone knocking on his door.

"Coming!" he shouted as he went out of his room, then noticing that he was only in his boxers quickly put on his gray sweatpants and a white tee. He heard more knocking on his door. Getting slightly annoyed, "Shut up already! I said I'm coming!" he shouted louder this time as he stormed down the stairs to the first floor and ran towards the front door. He opened it to reveal a spiky black-haired policeman standing before him.

"What do you want, you old drunk?" Natsu growled.

"Hey! Don't give me that!" Senji laughed while he placed his hand on Natsu's head and ruffled his hair.

"Do you know what time it is…?" Natsu sweatdropped at his antics.

"8AM. So?"

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be up?"

"It isn't if I need help. C'mon, put something on and let's go." Senji nodded towards his police car.

Natsu sighed as he put on his shoes and grabbed a gray hoody which matched his pants. "What is it?" He asked as he went out and closed the door behind him, locking it.

"I need some help unpacking the groceries for the store." He said as he unlocked his car's door.

"How much is it?" Natsu asked. This wasn't the first time he had to help them out of the blue like this. But he didn't complain much, he did owe Senji a lot after all.

"Three deliveries."

"Well, there goes my morning exercise." The pinkette exclaimed as he rode shotgun.

"Oh you'll get your exercise alright." Senji grinned.

"Right…"

Meanwhile, as Natsu and Senji drove off, five people came out around the corner of another house.

"They're gone." A dark-blue haired teen stated as he marched towards Natsu's house.

"Are you sure we should do this, Gray? I mean, this could be considered breaking and entering…" Erza frowned while holding a medium sized box which had a few small holes in it.

"It ain't breaking in if you have the key." Gray grinned as he put his hand under Natsu's mailbox, taking out a rusty white key, "He always keeps a back-up right here, in case he loses his." The teen stated.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure he won't mind." Lucy chuckled as they entered his house.

"This place is a mess, like always." Gray exclaimed, "We'll have to clean it up a bit before the dumbass gets back."

"When's that?" Loki asked.

"Senji said that there's loads to be done, so it might take more than two hours." Gray replied.

"Good." Juvia smiled, "Then let's get to work!"

* * *

"See? This is what happens when you don't listen to us!" a long-haired blonde laughed maniacally as he kept punching an already unconscious man.

"Oi, Zancrow, calm down or you'll kill him!" a dark red-haired teen exclaimed as he grabbed Zancrow's hand, not letting his friend continue.

"Let go of me, Cobra!" Zancrow shouted as he struggled to get free of the other's grasp.

"Listen to snakey here, asshole." A goth-like figure said as he kicked the blonde's head, "We don't want to get in any deep shit." he stated.

"Even though we're already in 'deep shit'…" Cobra sweatdropped.

"You'll die for that Midnight!" Zancrow shouted as he got up.

"Oh yeah? Bring it, shithead." Midnight urged him as he made a "come at me" motion with his hands, but as the two started charging at one another, Cobra stepped in front of both of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"You shouldn't be fighting today, you know? It's brother's birthday after all." The dark red-haired teen frowned. The statement earned a smack upside the head from both Midnight and Zancrow.

"Who gives a shit if today's his birthday! He ain't one of us anymore…" Zancrow noted in disappointment.

"Wait, that gives me an idea." The goth grinned.

"What?" Both Cobra and Zancrow raised an eyebrow in question.

"What say you we give him a surprise birthday present? I think even boss would approve."

"Approve of what?" The three heard a familiar voice which sent shivers down their spines. The newly appeared person was of average height with a slim yet muscular build. He has black hair that sticks upwards at the top and dark brown eyes which sometimes might be mistaken for dark-red. He wore a black tank top with a black trench-coat to protect him from the winter's cold, a pair of black cargo pants and black boots with white stripes on the sides. A metallic surface covered the front of the boots, acting as his weapon.

"Oh.. Zee. We didn't notice you were there." Cobra muttered shakily.

"I just got back. Who's this guy?" The man known as Zee asked while pointing towards the person lying on the floor, unconscious.

"The asshole thought he could take us head on by himself. What an idiot." Zancrow laughed.

"You gotta admire his enthusiasm, though." Midnight said before the trench-coat wearing person stepped closer and kicked the unconscious man on his head with his metallic-surfaced boots, making his neck snap and sending his lifeless body sliding through the ground a few feet.

"So what was it that you wanted me to approve?" Zee asked nonchalantly, as if he didn't just kill a person without a second thought.

"We… **I **was thinking" Midnight changed his sentence as he felt the death glares being sent his way by both Zancrow and Cobra," that we should give Salamander a birthday present of our own."

"Hmm." Their boss scratched the back of his head in thought, "Oh right, it is his birthday today. Go ahead. Just make sure you leave him alive." The teen stated before leaving them with the now deceased stranger Zancrow was beating up earlier.

"I only wanted to send him a warning though." The goth sweatdropped.

"Even after all this time, I can never get used to the new him." Cobra sighed.

"Me neither." Midnight and Zancrow said in unison.

"So what do we do with this guy?" The blonde asked while pointing towards the corpse.

Cobra sighed, "Leave him to the two rookies." He stated and left the room, not wanting to stay in the place for too long.

* * *

Natsu and Senji arrived at the store and drove around it to the back entrance where all the newly arrived goods were stored in boxes.

"All of this?" Natsu exclaimed as he got out of the car.

"Yup. What? Is it too much for you?" Senji said mockingly.

"Hell no! This'll be easy!" Natsu shouted, but honestly he wasn't too sure of himself. And so their work started, or rather, Natsu's work started as Senji went inside the store and got himself a beer and sat down on the bench he had made, not even bothering to help Natsu who was struggling to carry the huge boxes inside the store.

"At least get me a beer, asswipe." Natsu exclaimed angrily.

"Turn eighteen fir-" Senji wanted to say, but was interrupted by Natsu.

"I am eighteen!" Natsu shouted, "You even texted me today about it!"

"Oh that's right!" Senji laughed as he went in a store and moments later got back with some non-alcoholic beer, "Happy birthday."

"You've got to be joking, right?" Natsu asked, annoyed.

"Nope. This one's the last one." Senji smiled as he showed Natsu the bottle of _Heineken _that he was drinking, "The rest's already out. You'll have to make do with this." He then stated, handing the can of non-alcoholic beer to Natsu,

"Oh fuck this." Natsu growled in anger as he dropped the box he was holding, pushed the can of fake beer away and marched off.

"Oi, dumbass, the box you were holding had beer in it." Senji deadpanned.

"Then why the hell did you say you were out?"

"Well, we technically were, you know…" The policeman couldn't help but laugh at how easy it was to annoy Natsu in the morning.

"You know, I frickin' hate you." Natsu retorted as he grabbed the box and continued to carry it inside the store while mumbling incoherent curse words that were apparently directed at Senji.

By this point, Senji had trouble holding back tears from laughing too much.

"You're so easy to tease, you know that?" Senji said as Natsu came back holding a bottle of the same beer that the spiky-haired adult was drinking.

"Oh shut up." Natsu growled.

* * *

Erza got the task of tidying up Natsu's room. It was a total mess: clothes were lying around everywhere, school books unorganized and all over the place, wrappings from chips and other junk food thrown around as if the room itself was a trashcan.

'_This is going to take some time…. I'm going to have to teach Natsu how to clean his room properly._' Erza sighed inwardly.

Erza opened Natsu's closet to check if there're any dirty clothes that needed washing and she noticed something that caught her attention.

"Gray! Can you come over here for a sec?" She shouted to Gray who was just outside moping the second floor's hall.

"Yeah? What is it?" the said teen asked as he entered the room.

"Look." She said as she showed a picture of a younger Natsu and Gray standing with four others. Both Natsu and Gray were about fifteen at the time standing at the center, Natsu giving his signature grin as Gray gave a smile while his hand was leaning on Natsu's shoulder. To Gray's side stood a young red-eyed kid with blond hair going to his waist, it was ruffled and spiky, his expression – a sort of challenging grin, Erza couldn't understand it. To the blonde's side was a black-haired kid wearing a hoody, his face covered and his hands crossed around his chest.

To Natsu's side there was a dark-red haired kid who snuggled up to Natsu, Natsu wrapping his right hand around his neck and placing it on his shoulder. To Erza, the two looked like brothers and the thought made her smile. And to that kid's side there was a black haired teen with white hair at the sides and back. He wore black make-up and black clothes, everything about him was either black or some other dark color, while looking directly towards the camera, the goth had a smile on his face.

"What's this?" Erza asked curiously.

"I can't believe Natsu kept this." Gray gasped in surprise, but his expression changed to that of a nostalgic smile, " This was us back when we were fifteen or something." He explained.

"And who are the other four?"

"People who we considered to be friends back then." He smiled, "Sorry, Erza, this story isn't mine to tell. If you want to find out you'll have to ask Natsu." Gray said as he gave her back the picture and left the room. Erza, who was seemingly annoyed by her friend's reply, noticed that Gray, while leaving, had both a sad and worried smile on his face. She didn't ask anything further and placed the photograph back in the closet.

* * *

"Finally! It's over." Natsu joyed while panting.

"Well what do you know, you're not that weak after all." Senji laughed while drinking his fifth bottle of beer.

"Shut up and gimme that." Natsu exclaimed as he took the bottle from Senji and jugged it down, not leaving a single drop behind, "Now that hit the spot." He smiled while looking at the empty bottle.

"Hey, c'mon, let's go inside." Senji urged as he stood up.

"What is it?"

"You'll see." The policeman replied with a smile and they went inside. The store was closed as it was a Saturday and on the weekends it only opens on 10AM. Natsu checked the clock near the entrance of the store, it was 9.40AM. '_Damn… that long?_'

"Wait here." Senji ordered as he went into the office part of the store and came out a few minutes later holding a box which had the word _GeForce _written with green letters, "I remember you saying your video card was shot, so Happy Birthday." He said with a smile as he pushed the box onto Natsu.

"Whoa! A 680? Thanks! Wasn't this really expensive though?" Natsu asked as he looked at the box, then back at Senji.

"Don't worry about it." Senji reassured him, but then noticed that Natsu's expression hadn't changed, which made him sweatdrop, "Think of it as your reward for today and a birthday present." He said.

"Uhh… Okay. Thanks." Natsu smiled.

"Now, get out of here. I have a girl coming over before the store opens up."

"I'm gone." Natsu instantly replied and vanished. He had seen before how Senji was with girls that were 'Coming over' as he would put it. Never again in his life did he want to witness that sight.

* * *

About twenty minutes later Natsu was already near his house. He was happy about the present he got from Senji, because he himself had been saving up for a new video card, yet he got one of the best cards and without paying for it. '_Senji's a good guy when he doesn't want to be an asshole._' Natsu smiled.

He went to unlock his door, but was surprised to find it unlocked. He quietly opened the door and placed the present he got inside to the side of the door. He silently closed it, flicking the lock to not let any intruders run away. Oh they're going to be in a world of pain if they tried stealing anything.

"SURPRISE!" Natsu heard people shout as five familiar faces jumped from behind the room's corner, behind the couch, from the kitchen and so on. Was he surprised? Was he happy? Hell, he could barely hold his tears in. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Natsu!" They all shouted.

"You guys.." Natsu muttered.

"Oi, don't go crying on me, matchstick." Gray grinned as he placed his fist forward.

"Shut up, ice queen." Natsu grinned back as he bumped Gray's fist with his own. He then saw Erza coming up to him, "Hey-" he wanted to say, but was interrupted by Erza who suddenly wrapped her hands around Natsu and kissed him. Everyone in the room couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Happy birthday." She whispered as she broke the kiss off and pressed her head against the front of Natsu's left shoulder.

"Yeah." He smiled as he placed his head on top of hers, hugging her tighter. He looked through everyone. There was Gray, Juvia, Lucy and Loki. But something surprised him.

"Wait… you two are together now?" Natsu asked with a sweatdrop while pointing at Loki who had hugged Lucy around her waist from behind.

"Yup." Loki grinned.

"Since when?"

"Last week."

"And why am I finding out about this only now?"

"Lucy was shy about it." The blond teen answered.

"Okay. Then another question." Natsu stated as Erza looked up to him in question, "Is this my birthday celebration or a triple date?" he asked bluntly. Gray couldn't help but laugh while Lucy blushed.

"Erza, maybe now's a good time?" Gray smiled.

"Oh! That's right!" the redhead remembered as she got free of Natsu's grip and went upstairs, leaving a confused pinkette behind. He looked at Gray in question, who replied by holding his finger up as if telling him to wait, to which Natsu shrugged and complied.

Moments later Erza came back holding a box which had many small holes in it. Natsu tilted his head to the side, confused, trying to figure out what it was. "Happy Birthday." Erza smiled as she gave him the box. He took it with a confused look in his eyes, Erza sighed, "Come on, open it." She urged him.

"Okay…" he replied and started carefully ripping the tape holding it closed apart and opened it. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock. He put his hands in the box, wrapping them around something, then taking a small blue cat out of the box. The cat seemed comfortable in Natsu's embrace as it let out a satisfied meow while pressing its head against Natsu's arm. "What gave you this idea?" Natsu smiled at Erza.

"You did say you were a cat person on our first date, remember?" the redhead smiled back, "Mirajane helped me find this little guy, so you better thank her later." She said as she came closer to Natsu and petted the cat.

"I will, thanks." Natsu said as she kissed her forehead, effectively making her blush.

"What will you name it?" Gray asked.

"Oh it doesn't have a name yet?" Natsu asked while looking down at the cat which was purring as Erza stroked its coat gently. He then looked through everyone, and noticed something, "I think the name Happy's appropriate." He smiled.

"Happy? That's a weird name." Loki wondered.

"I think it sounds sweet." Lucy pouted.

"Okay, maybe it does sound sweet." He surrendered.

"Then it's settled." The scarlet haired girl that was petting the cat smiled.

"We got it a litter box and some toys. Food, too." Gray stated as he pointed towards the bags near the living room couch.

"Since when have you guys been here?" The owner of the house asked, slightly annoyed as he put the cat, now known as Happy, down on the couch where it made itself comfortable and fell asleep.

"When you left with Senji, why?" Gray inquired.

"Oh so that bastard was in with this too." Natsu growled. They all sat down on the couch, but as the couch wasn't big enough to fit six people, Natsu brought some chairs from the kitchen and placed them on the other side of the table where Gray and Juvia sat while Natsu went back to sit near Erza.

"You know, this really does look like a triple date." Erza stated with a smile while Natsu only sweatdropped.

"You guys want any beer?" Gray asked as he went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, he noticed Erza's glare, "C'mon Erza, we're all of age here, you know." He pleaded, to which Erza only sighed and shrugged. Natsu was surprised to see her give in so fast.

"Why beer? Can't we drink something else?" Natsu asked, knowing full well what Erza thought of drinking. He, of course, meant something non-alcoholic.

"We got vodka, too." The teen stated as he showed him the bottle.

"Gimme the beer." Natsu said with a sweatdrop and Gray returned with six cans and gave one to each person present.

"You sure you want this? We can throw it out…" Natsu whispered.

"No, I'm fine. It's only one beer, right?" Erza smiled as she leaned on Natsu and gave him the can, "Can you open it?"

"Sure." He said as he flicked the can open and sipped the beer foam, "Here." He gave it back to her with a smile.

"Thanks." Was Erza's reply as she sipped some of the drink and Happy climbed on her lap, "Hey there little fella." She smiled.

"Seems like he likes you." Natsu couldn't help but chuckle.

"Does he?"

"Meow!"

"See?" They both shared a laugh.

* * *

The next hour was them talking and the other's giving their presents to Natsu. Gray and Juvia got Natsu a photocamera with a tripod, which Natsu accepted happily with a blush on his face. Lucy and Loki got him something that he wanted for a long time now.

"_Diablo 3_?" Natsu exclaimed as he looked at the case, still not believing in the sight in front of him.

"Yup." Both Lucy and Loki smiled.

"Calm down, geek." Gray laughed as he saw Natsu's reaction to a simple video game, "You'll play with the thing later, don't you want to test out the camera, first?"

"That gives me an idea." Natsu grinned. Gray, understanding what he was getting at, stood up and took Juvia with him behind the couch, leaning on its side and hugging the surprised girl. Loki, who got the message after Gray nodded at him, pressed Lucy closer against him while sitting on the couch to which the blonde girl blushed.

Natsu quickly set up the tripod with the camera on it, "20 Seconds will do, I guess." The boy shrugged as he went back to the couch. He sat near Erza, then moved behind her, crossing one leg to her side and embracing her waist, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Smile." He said and then the camera emitted a flash of light and photographed them all. Natsu went back towards the camera and looked at the digital photo. "Looks great." He stated with a smile as he took the camera out of the tripod and showed to everyone. In the photo, there was a four people size couch, on the right side of the couch Erza sat with Natsu behind her, leaning on her shoulder with his hands wrapped around her waist. She had a slight blush on her face with a hearty smile crossing her lips. Natsu's expression was a faint smile, his eyes closed. It looked as if he was dreaming while on Erza's shoulder. To the left side sat Loki with Lucy sitting on his knees, her own knees placed on the couch while her hands were embracing her boyfriend as she had a blush and a happy smile on her face. Loki's expression was a toothy grin and a slight blush, he held out two fingers in a Peace sign out in front. Behind the couch stood Gray and Juvia, with Juvia leaning on him while Gray held both her hands. They both had smiles on their faces and Juvia had a slight glint of pink on her cheeks.

"Really does look great." Gray was surprised.

"I'll have to go to town to make a genuine photo out of this." Natsu then stated.

"Make it six." Erza smiled.

"Aye."

* * *

The rest of the day consisted of them drinking beer and playing board games while chatting about everything. Gray slowly got drunk because he opened the bottle of vodka and, much to Natsu's annoyance, made the said pinkette drink because he was the birthday boy. Lucky for Natsu, he could hold his drinks, you could say he had an immunity to alcohol.

Natsu didn't even notice how fast time flew by as the clock hit 6PM. It was already getting dark because of winter time. At that time, Lucy went to the fridge and brought out a strawberry cake with the words "Happy Birthday Natsu!" etched on it.

"I take it the strawberry cake was your idea?" Natsu asked Erza with a chuckle, to which the redhead didn't respond but only blushed.

And they dug in. Or Erza dug in. She dug into half the cake, to be exact, though no one minded it, they knew how much she loved strawberries.

"Hey Natsu! – hic – play the guitar!" Gray shouted barely coherent.

"I will if you lighten up on the drinks, jackass." Natsu retorted.

"Come on, Sally!" Gray urged him as a tick mark formed on his forehead.

"Sally?" Erza raised an eyebrow.

"Yesh! – hic – Hesh the Shalamandar after all – hic." He stated. Erza had to think for a second to decipher what he had just said. '_Hesh the Shalamandar.. wait._' Realization struck her as Natsu smacked Gray on the head, X's forming on both his eyes as he lost consciousness.

"Get him home, will ya?" Natsu asked Loki, some slight red on Natsu's cheeks was visible from the alcohol.

"Alright." Loki nodded with a regretful smile.

"We're going, too." Lucy and Juvia said as they put their jackets on. "Will you be able to explain it to her? I think she understood." Lucy silently whispered.

Natsu sighed, "I'll have to." He said with a shrug and let the four out. Closing the door, Natsu sighed again before turning around to notice Erza's confused look.

"What did he mean by calling you Salamander?" She asked.

"Exactly that. Follow me." He said as he went towards the second floor, grabbing her hand as he went past her. He took her to his room and opened his closet, taking out the same picture Erza had found before.

"I wanted to ask you about this one." She said.

"Oh so you've seen it already?" Natsu asked, surprised.

"Yeah, while I was cleaning your room."

"Figures why the school stuff is organized alphabetically on my desk." Natsu sweatdropped as he sat on the ground , his legs crossed. Erza, while sitting down next to him, noticed that he had a sort of nostalgic smile on his face, the same smile Gray had.

"This brings back memories." He said quietly.

"Good ones, or…?"

"Both." Natsu replied. "You've probably heard about the Salamander before, right?"

Erza nodded, "I heard that he was a feared delinquent, part of the strongest gang in Magnolia or something like that."

Natsu laughed, "Not a member, the leader." He stated, "And what he said about me being the Salamander? It's true." Natsu stated nonchalantly, not looking at her.

An uncomfortable silence crept up as Natsu looked at the picture in his hands.

"You probably hate me now, don't you?" he asked her, his gaze still averted from hers and he didn't see the angry expression on Erza's face.

"You idiot!" She shouted as she smacked Natsu on the head. Truth be told, Erza hasn't smacked him that hard before, which surprised the teen.

"Wha-" He wanted to say something as he turned towards her, but before he could he was met with Erza's embrace, shocking him. "Erza…?" He whispered.

"How can I hate you? You WERE the Salamander. You aren't him now. You are Natsu Dragneel. MY Natsu Dragneel." She said as she tightened her grip around him. Natsu was shocked. He expected her to hate him, to break up with him, to beat him up at least! He never expected her to accept him for who he was and moreover to state that he was hers. He couldn't help but let a tear escape his eye and roll down his cheek.

"Thanks." He muttered shakily as he placed his left hand on her back, pulling her closer. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Erza let go of him and leant back a bit. Noticing the tear, she placed her hand on Natsu's cheek and wiped it away.

"You okay?" Erza asked quietly, her expression softened.

"Yeah. Thanks." Natsu smiled.

"Now, about that picture… I see Gray's in there too." She pointed at the photograph in Natsu's hand.

"Oh, yeah. Well, he was a part of our gang, too." He stated.

"He was?" Erza asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Frost."

"How old were you two back then?"

"Fifteen? Sixteen? I can't remember."

"And who are the others?" Erza kept questioning him. To Natsu's surprise, she wasn't showing the least bit of anger or disappointment. It was the other way around, she was interested!

"This fag." Natsu pointed at the goth like teen on the far left, "His name was Midnight. This guy right here, the one with the dark-red hair, he's Cobra." Natsu said as his expression softened.

"He was like a brother to you, wasn't he?" Erza asked as a smile formed on her face.

"More like a stupid younger brother." Natsu chuckled while scratching the back of his head, "That's me." Natsu stated proudly as he pointed towards himself.

"Oh really? I mistook him for the pink-haired second year I told you about yesterday." Erza deadpanned.

Ignoring the comment, Natsu moved on, "You know who this ass is." Natsu growled while pointing at the younger version of Gray.

"You two haven't changed a bit, have you?" She chuckled.

"This one right here's Zancrow." Natsu said while pointing at the one long-haired blonde standing next to Gray, "You don't want to meet him." The pinkette stated with a sweatdrop.

"He looks like a molester." Erza shivered.

Natsu looked at her strangely then bursted out in laughter, "Okay, I've heard people call him names before, but never have I heard anyone call him a molester, hahahaha." Natsu kept laughing.

"Who's the last one?" The redhead asked curiously. Natsu almost immediately stopped laughing. Erza noticed that his expression changed, became serious.

"This one, huh." Natsu said in a different tone to his normal every day one, "His name's-" he was interrupted by the noise of shattering glass in the first floor, "The hell?" He exclaimed as he stood up, leaving the photo on the ground, "Stay here." The teen said as he stormed down the stairs to the first floor.

He went down and felt the cold winter breeze. He looked to where he thought the cause of the wind was and noticed that his window was broken. "Who the-" he was saying before he noticed a large brick on the floor near the window. He picked it up, and what he saw made him gasp. He dropped the brick and stepped back a few feet. He then gritted his teeth in anger, "You're back, huh," Natsu growled while looking through the broken window "Zee...!"

* * *

**Alright! Done! I hope you liked this one. And I'm extremely grateful to those who are reviewing my work. I was especially surprised when the last chapter (the filler) got so much positive feedback. Thanks loads! I'm glad you're enjoying my story! :)**


	17. Happy Birthday Salamander

**FYI: I'll be focusing a bit more on _Rock Your World_ from now on, so don't be surprised if that one gets updated more frequently than this one or _Let it Burn_, but I won't forget those two though. :)**

**A follow up was needed to the events of the last chapter, so here you go. And, umm... Enjoy.**

* * *

"Zee…!" Natsu growled. He dove straight for his pocket and reached for his phone. He looked through his address book, found the number that he wanted and pressed 'Call', pressing his phone against his ear.

"Ringing"

"…"

"Ringing"

"…" Natsu stomped his foot on the ground impatiently.

"Ringing"

"PICK UP DAMNIT!"

"Ringing… Yeah? What is it?" The recipient finally answered.

"Gajeel! Take Senji's car and get over here, now!" Natsu shouted.

"Oi, stop shouting at me! What the hell happened?" Gajeel asked, confused.

"Just do what I said, I'll explain later!"

"Fine." Gajeel replied and hung up.

Natsu stomped around his room, waiting impatiently for the said help to come over. He would constantly look back at the brick which was thrown in his home, then at the door, hoping no one would barge in unannounced. Truth be told, Natsu was expecting someone to come, but he didn't want it. He had Erza in the house and he couldn't fight around her, especially against the ones who threw the damn piece of wall.

"Natsu? What's wrong? What happened?" Erza asked confused while coming down the stairs.

"It's fine, Erza. Just stay there. A friend's coming to pick you up." Natsu stated looking at her with apologetic eyes.

"What? Why?" Erza asked again to which Natsu didn't reply. He couldn't. What would he say? That his old 'friends' have come for him? Not a chance. "What's this?" Erza noticed the brick and went near it, flipping it over, reading what was written on it, "We're back, brother. Come outside, we need to talk." She read it out loud, "Natsu, could it be…?" She asked in disbelief.

"Just go upstairs, Erza!" Natsu shouted.

"Stop shouting at me!" Erza retorted.

"Look, Erza, I don't have time to argue, just do what I say!" he persisted.

"No! Explain to me what is happening first!"

"Look, it's not safe here!"

"Why is it not saf-?" she was interrupted by a voice from outside.

"OI! SALAMANDER! GET OUT HERE, WILL YA!"

"Tch. Impatient assholes." Natsu grunted as he turned for the door.

"Natsu! Wait!"

"Erza, grab Happy and just wait, I'll take care of this." He stated as he opened the door, "Somehow…" he muttered to himself. He went outside with only his hoodie on. It was already evening and the temperature had lowered. Natsu closed the door behind him and put the key in his pocket. He went to the street, where he saw three familiar figures.

"Hey, Salamander. It's been some time." A blond man stated.

"Zancrow." Natsu nodded, "Midnight." He nodded again towards another figure, who only sighed in response.

"Brother!" Another person exclaimed as he jumped on Natsu, hugging him.

"Oi! Calm down, Cobra." Natsu couldn't help but laugh. He had to admit it, he missed his younger brother figure, and he had to admit that Cobra was definitely the only one he missed.

"How have you been?" Cobra asked with a grin as he let go of Natsu. Natsu, albeit surprised, was truly glad to have seen him for the first time in so long.

"Cobra, even though I'm glad to see you, I have to admit: I would've been better off if you wouldn't have come here." Natsu frowned.

"I know. I'm sorry about that, brother. It wasn't my idea." The said dark red-haired teen sighed as he stepped back towards the other two.

"I take it you two didn't come here to catch up?" Natsu asked rhetorically. He needed to buy time for Gajeel to come.

"What do you think?" Zancrow grinned.

"It's going to be fun busting you up, asshole." Midnight smiled.

"Why did you come back? And why now?" Natsu asked, trying to draw out the conversation out as much as possible.

"Simple really. Boss thought it to be the right time is all." Midnight stated.

"So that guy is still alive, huh…" Natsu sighed.

"Enough talk!" Zancrow shouted, effectively making Cobra frown, "We didn't come here to chat, Salamander!" he added as both him and Midnight charged at Natsu. Cobra didn't. He stood back with a regretful expression on his face.

Natsu sighed. He couldn't help but feel that this was like old times. Midnight noticed a puddle on the path towards Natsu and he stomped on it and kicked some water and dirt towards Natsu. The pinkette, already knowing how Midnight will go about attacking him because it wasn't the first time he used such a tactic, closed his eyes so the coming dirt won't damage them and stood in a position to intercept the goth's attack.

"Gah!" Midnight groaned as Natsu caught his fist that was aimed for the pink-hair's stomach with his left hand and answered with a right elbow to Midnight's face, knocking him back for a second, but before Natsu could attack himself, Zancrow popped up behind Midnight, landing a punch directly on Natsu's face with his right fist. The blonde tried sending another punch with his left fist, but that hand was pulled down by Natsu, lowering Zancrow's body as the teen kicked him straight on the chest with his knee, making Zancrow gasp for air. Again, as if it was a rerun of some kind, Midnight popped up behind the gasping blonde who slowly got up, despite almost choking a couple of seconds ago. This time, Natsu could neither block nor retaliate completely as the two overwhelmed him. Zancrow, while getting up, caught one of Natsu's feet, not allowing him to step back as the goth kicked him on his chin, knocking Natsu back with such force that his foot slid out of Zancrow's grasp.

Natsu fell to the hard ground, the back of his head hit the asphalt and his vision got blurry. '_Ugh… This is going to hurt._' Natsu exclaimed inwardly as he slowly got up, '_Where the hell is he? He should've been here by now!_'

"What are you looking at?" Zancrow grinned when Natsu let his guard down and the said blonde charged him head-on, landing an uppercut which pushed him into a lamppost.

Natsu, seemingly unaffected by the punishment sent his way, shouted, "Don't get too full of yourself!" before grabbing Zancrow by the side of his head with his left hand and, with a step forward, pulled his whole body through the side and slammed his head on the metallic lamppost behind him, effectively bending it. Stunned by the sudden blow, only one of Zancrow's feet were touching the ground and Natsu used that to his advantage by kicking the said foot, making his enemy fall to the hard ground face-first.

"Dumbass." Midnight sighed as he watched his friend face plant the ground, "I see you've still got it."

"'Course I still got it. Know your place." Natsu glared daggers at the goth who was slightly annoyed by the pinkette's comment.

"And you're still high and mighty as ever." He gritted his teeth.

"I see no reason to be friendly around weaklings."

"Shut up!" Midnight shouted as he charged Natsu. His plan to get the goth angry worked as he recklessly swung his whole arm towards Natsu's face, which he easily dodged by ducking, following up with two swift punches to his stomach. Midnight ignored the pain as best he could and swung down with his left fist. Natsu grappled his arm with his own and as he gripped it tighter he sent the dizzy goth towards the same lamppost Zancrow hit by swinging his body through the side.

"Get up." Natsu ordered the two now laying delinquents. A grin appearing on Natsu's face as his expression changed from the kind Natsu that we all know to the delinquent Salamander's. "It's just getting fun." He chuckled.

"Shit…" Midnight exclaimed as he slowly stood up, his back against the lamppost, using it as support, "I guess Gerard wasn't lying when he said that you haven't changed much, Salamander."

"Gerard, huh? How is the bastard?" Natsu asked, the grin not leaving his face.

"He's recovered, if that's what you want to know, brother." Cobra said while standing behind them.

"Shut up, Cobra!" Zancrow shouted as he came at Natsu again.

Natsu's grin widening, he ran to meet the blonde head on, receiving the punch he sent and, unfazed, sent one of his own. Much to Natsu's disappointment, the blond fell to the ground with a grunt of pain while holding his left cheek. Natsu had dislocated his jaw with the blow he sent.

"Oi. If you're coming at me, then make sure you do the job right!" Natsu shouted as he jumped on Zancrow and started punching the blond straight on the face, ignoring the fact that he was slowly breaking his jaw.

"Tch, the asshole's still a monster." Midnight panted.

Natsu kept swinging down. He didn't even remember how many times he did, nor did he care. He kept swinging as he saw Zancrow hold his fists up in defense, not letting a single blow get past him and Natsu, who was seemingly annoyed by this, pushed one of his hands away while holding his right fist up, "The end." He stated with a sickening grin.

"NATSU!" They heard a voice from inside the house which made Natsu freeze. He turned his gaze towards the source of the voice, which was his house, and saw Erza standing in the doorway, looking at him in shock, "Natsu! Stop! That's enough…" she cried out.

"Erza…" Natsu muttered, the need to fight fading from him.

"Cobra!" Midnight shouted as he kicked Natsu in the back of his head, knocking him off of Zancrow.

"Got it." The dark-red haired teen nodded as he started running towards Erza.

"Gah! Cobra!" Natsu growled as he hit the ground. He wanted to stand up, but before he knew it, his left hand was bent behind his back with a boot at his left shoulder.

"This shouldn't have healed yet, right?" Midnight grinned as he pressed his foot on Natsu's shoulder, almost dislocating his arm.

Natsu screamed out in pain. His left shoulder had been operated on when he got shot and it hasn't properly healed yet. If enough force was applied it would break, and the goth knew that.

"Natsu!" Erza gasped at the sight.

"Erza! Run!" Natsu shouted from the bottom of his lungs as Cobra ran towards her.

"Don't even bother." Cobra stated.

"Fuck you!" They heard another voice and, much to Natsu's surprise and relief, he saw Cobra being knocked back, falling to the stree after receiving a punch square on his face, "Come on, follow me!" the same man shouted.

"Gajeel!" Natsu sighed a sigh of relief, "Get her out of here!" he ordered.

"Got it." The long black haired man nodded, grabbed Erza's hand and pulled her with him around the house.

"Let go of me!" The redhead struggled.

"He'll be fine! My car's out back, come on, I'll take you home." Gajeel stated.

"But…" Erza cried out as she clutched Happy tighter, making sure that the panicking cat doesn't run away.

As they were already near his car, Gajeel opened the passenger seat and let Erza in, then made his way to the driver seat, buckled up and started driving. He pulled out his phone and dialed three numbers before pressing it on his ear.

"Who are you calling?" Erza asked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"An ambulance." The man stated.

"You should go back and help him!" She cried out.

"Hell no! He asked me to get you out of here and that's what I'm doing!" Gajeel shouted angrily before he got through to the medics, "I need an ambulance!..."

"Ahahahahaha! What're you gonna do now, huh?" Natsu growled, holding back the need to scream from the pain he felt in his shoulder.

"Go to hell!" Zancrow exclaimed as he pushed his boot against the back of Natsu's head, making him face plant the ground.

"Why didn't you chase them?" Midnight shouted at the returning Cobra.

"You want me to chase Gajeel? You know that'd be a pain in the ass." The teen stated.

"Doesn't matter, we got what we came for." Zancrow said with a grin on his face while looking at the struggling Natsu.

"Why the hell did you three come here…?" The pink-haired teen asked in between pants and grunts.

"To give you a birthday present, so…" Midnight grinned before pulling on Natsu's left arm and pushing his foot down his shoulder, effectively breaking it, "Happy Birthday, Salamander." He laughed as Natsu screamed in pain.

Midnight let go of his hand and Natsu plunged to the ground, still screaming from the pain he felt. Compared to the time he got shot, this time it felt like a train ran over him. His arm wobbled around lifeless as he clutched his shoulder with his right arm.

"Yeah, Happy Birthday Sally." Zancrow laughed as he gave Natsu one last kick to his head, breaking his jaw, "That's for before, asshole."

"Come on, let's go. I bet Gajeel already called an ambulance." Cobra stated and frowned at the sight of his older brother figure struggling in pain while on the ground.

"He better have. It'd be a problem if this guy dies." Midnight sweat dropped.

"I guess we'll see you later, brother." Cobra stated regretfully before turning his gaze away from the sorry sight and slowly started walking away.

"Heh, you better not die before the main event." Zancrow laughed maniacally before following his friend. Midnight didn't even say anything. He just shot Natsu one last death glare before following the two.

'_Main event, huh._' Natsu thought inwardly as he rolled on his back, still clutching his shoulder, ignoring as much of the pain as he could. '_I hope Erza's alright…_' was the last thought on his mind before he lost consciousness.

* * *

**Bit shorter than usual, but I couldn't figure out how to continue after Natsu lost so I just figured I should move to another chapter xD**

**Cheers.**


	18. The Road Home

Pulsating. That's what he felt when he woke up. His jaw was pulsating and he had a pretty good idea why it was like that. Even though Natsu had no idea where he was, the familiar feel of the bed he was lying on gave him a slight clue. Gajeel wasn't dumb, so he probably called the ambulance when he got Erza out of his house.

'_Erza…_' He worried about her, sure, but knowing her she's probably sitting on a chair or something next to him. He tried to open his eyes, yet he couldn't. How long was he out for his eyes to close off like that? He felt his left arm tightly wrapped in something that constricted his movement from the shoulder downwards. Probably a cast, since his shoulder was broken, again. At least he felt his fingers were free and his arm was in a position which allowed him to lean his head slightly down and open his eyes forcefully. He regretted doing that immediately after.

After opening his eyes the rays of the morning's sun instantly invaded his eyes, probably damaging them in the process, "Fu-" he groaned loudly again as the pain his jaw caused him kicked in after he slightly opened his mouth. He quickly grasped his mouth with his good arm and fought back a tear from the sudden pain he felt.

Struggling, he shrugged it off as best he could and opened his extremely sensitive eyes again while blocking out the sun with his right arm. He looked around, observing his surroundings: white walls, a single window with its curtains rolled up to only leave that one god damn gap that almost destroyed his eyes, and the one single white bed he was on with an IV bag beside it. Yeah, this was definitely the same room he had been before after his little confrontation with Gerard. That or every single room in this hospital was completely the same.

He glanced to his side where Erza had been the last time he was here only to notice that the chair was empty. Letting out a deep sigh, he went to his thoughts; he had a hunch why she wasn't here and it was confirmed after he determined the time from the clock hanging loosely on one of the walls in the room: it was 10.30 and the middle of school. He figured he had to be sleeping for at least a week and, considering that she was the council president, the redhead had to be at school.

'_Where are the fucking nurses when you need them?! This shitty sun is killing me!_' He exclaimed inwardly as he reached for the switch that called the nurse. Finally grasping the apparatus, he pressed it and dropped it back on his bed. About five minutes later a black-haired woman wearing a nurse's outfit entered his room.

"Dragneel-san! You're awake!" She smiled.

'_No shit I'm awake!_' He exclaimed inwardly again, and pointed annoyingly towards the window with his finger, then back to his eyes.

Gasping, the nurse quickly walked towards the window and swiftly closed the gap between the two curtains, "I'm terribly sorry." She said, bowing her head in an apologetic fashion, "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, he motioned towards his jaw-line and shook his head, '_My fucking jaw's broken! How the hell do you expect me to reply?_' he snorted.

"You can try to speak, Dragneel-san." she nodded towards him.

"I ca-" the pain was instant, "Ow! Motherfu- Da- OW!" he exclaimed, "Wha- Th-Fu-!" the sound of his jaw jolting into place was heard, "THIS. FUCKING. HURTS!" He practically roared, finally regaining the ability to speak, even if he couldn't open his mouth that far, a few centimeters were enough to display his utter frustration.

"Now now, language, Dragneel-san." The woman sweatdropped at his antics.

"To hell with language! OW!" He exclaimed as his jaw-bone made another snapping sound, "Is this gonna - *crack* keep happening - *crack* forever? - *crack* FUCK!" He shouted again, trying his best to swallow the urge to punch his jaw and get the stupid thing off his body. You know you're fucked when you want to solve the problem of pain by inflicting more pain…

"The times it reacts should genuinely die down, but I'd say you'll feel it for at least a few days."

"A. FEW. F - *crack* - ING. DAYS?!"

"Calm down, Dragneel-san!" She pleaded with a sweatdrop as she witnessed his fit, cursing and groaning as if Muhammad Ali himself had punched him square on the face.

"What the hell's happening?" The nurse heard a voice and the sound of the ward's door opening. She turned around and saw a raven-haired teen enter the room with what looked like the uniform of Fairy Tail High.

"Wha-*crack* OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE! COME O- *crack*- the fuck do you want, Popsicle?" Natsu glared at both the nurse and the teen standing near the door.

Gray sighed as he placed his hand on the nurse's shoulder, "I'll take it from here." He said, the nurse nodded and quickly ran out of the ward, making sure to close the door behind her tightly. He took the chair standing next to the wall and carried it near Natsu's bed and, placing the chair beside the bed, he sat on it, "How are you feeling?"

"Amazing!" Natsu exclaimed sarcastically as he lifted both of his hands in the air. Unfortunately, his left shoulder didn't appreciate the sudden movement and, besides the fact that he hit the same arm onto the metallic side of the bed, it instantly sent jolts of pain throughout his entire body, "Okay, maybe not so much…" He grinned sheepishly, fighting the urge to jump out of the window to end his misery right then and there. "How long have I been out? How's Erza? Did she make it out of there safely? And did anything else happen while I was out?" He asked, trying as hard as he could to not move his jaw too much.

"I can only do one, not four, you know." Gray sighed again.

"What?" Natsu asked, slightly confused.

"Questions." He stated, "Five now."

"What?" Natsu asked again.

"How the hell am I supposed to answer that one anyway?"

"Stop being such a freaking smartass!" Natsu exclaimed, "My right arm's enough to bash your face in *crack* FU… I'm not even gonna bother."

Watching his friend struggle in pain, Gray felt a slight feeling of guilt pierce through his chest. He blamed himself for what had happened to the guy. He told himself that if he was there with him, this could easily have gone the other way; Natsu wouldn't have broken his arm or jaw and the guys that attacked him would've been on the receiving end. "Erza's fine, Natsu." He said. Hearing his friend sigh in relief, he continued: "After he picked her up, Gajeel called an ambulance to get you and took her to her place."

"And what about Cobra, Midnight and Zancrow?"

"Gone. They didn't do anything for the past three weeks either." Gray stated.

"Three weeks? You're shitting me? I was out that long?" Natsu's jaw would've dropped if not for the… well, you know.

"Yeah. The doctors had to operate you two separate times, both for your jaw and shoulder."

"Yeah, I was about to ask why can I speak so easily *crack* scratch that, painfully."

"Your shoulder was practically shattered – again, - but they managed to fix it, although you won't be able to use your arm for over a month." Gray frowned.

"Shit." Natsu matched his friend's expression almost perfectly.

"And your jaw… I don't get it." Gray's frown deepened.

"What do you mean?"

"You got a surgery that cost shitloads of money, that's the reason you're able to talk right now." He explained.

"Who the hell paid for it?" Natsu asked.

"That's what's bothering me. We have absolutely no idea. Gramps said he didn't pay for it and couldn't say who did, though I bet the geezer knows."

The pinkette shrugged, "I don't care as long as they don't ask for anything in return."

"Touché." Gray nodded, "Look, Natsu, I'm sorry…"

"Huh?" Natsu glanced at him, surprised, "What for?"

"For not being there. If I was there-"

"You would've gotten your ass kicked." Natsu interrupted him, "And besides, you were piss drunk. I bet you would've gotten in the same, if not a worse state that I'm in right now just by trying to make it to my place."

"But-"

"Oh, shut up already." Natsu rolled his eyes, "I hate it when you get all moody and shit." He said and plumped back on the bed, folding his right arm behind his head.

The brunette faintly smiled and, realizing this as Natsu's way of forgiving him, continued, "I forgot the details, but apparently they had to, literally, nail your jaw together, hence the scar on your lower right cheek." He said, pointing towards his face.

Natsu raised his good arm and felt the area around his jaw, "Shit, I didn't even notice." He scowled, "Is it bad?"

"Considering what you looked like before, I'd say it's an improvement." He said with a grin.

"Don't think that if I'm in a hospital bed I can't kick your ass." Natsu growled, "Gimme a mirror." He said. After noticing Gray's puzzled expression, continued, "Oi, I said a mirror, not a weird look."

Gray sighed for what seemed like the bazillionth time already. And it was so peaceful when Natsu was out, too… He reached for his pocket, took out a small mirror and gave it to his pink-haired classmate. He figured that the pinkette would want to check the scar after he found out about it and, being the good friend that he is, he kept one with him incase Natsu ever decided to wake up. "Here"

Natsu took the mirror and quickly placed it in front of his face, checking if the damage to it was severe. He noticed the small scar under his cheekbone; it was about two to four centimeters long, its width probably only a few millimeters.

"What do you think?" Gray asked.

"Meh, one less place to shave." Natsu shrugged, giving the piece of glass back to him.

"Wait. I was wondering about this…" Gray smirked, "I never did see you with facial hair. Is your beard pink too? Cause that would be freaking hilla-" before he could finish his sentence Natsu finally lost his patience and punched him directly on his face with his right arm which sent the poor brunette tumbling from his chair through the room.

"Told you, motherfucker."

* * *

_An hour later…_

"Damn it, it's boring here!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Deal with it." Gray retorted.

"Did you bring my clothes?"

"Yeah," The brunette replied as he pointed towards the bag to his side," Why?"

"I'm getting out of here." Natsu declared.

"What? But the doctors…"

"To hell with them." He growled, "I can take care of myself just fine." He said while he slid to his side and slowly stood up. With a quick swipe of his right arm he ripped off the IV tubes from his limb.

"Don't you want to, at least, wait for Erza?"

"That reminds me…" Natsu said as he practically ripped off his hospital gown, luckily he had underwear, and proceeded to put the clothes from the bag on, "Why the hell aren't you at school?" he asked as he quickly slipped his grey sweatpants on.

"To watch over you, obviously." Gray rolled his eyes.

"You should've just dropped the clothes off and left for school," Natsu said with a slight shiver while he carefully put a white T-shirt on, making sure to slide his injured arm in gently "If Erza found out you skipped school because of me…" his face visibly paled.

"Huh?" Gray glanced quizzically at him.

"A few months before we got together there was this one first year who always bitched about math." he explained as he sat down on the floor and tried to put his socks on with one hand.

"Romeo, right?"

Natsu nodded, "So I told him to skip it. Erza found out and, well, I think I lost a few ribs." He said, shaking his head in an attempt to forget that extremely painful experience.

"And now that you're her boyfriend…" Gray muttered as realization stung him.

Natsu tilted his head up to glance at him with pleading eyes, "Exactly." He sighed, "Although I bet she'll kick both our asses either way."

"Point taken." His friend replied while standing up and making his way towards the door.

"Hey…" Natsu called, "You mind?" He asked while pointing a finger at his shoelaces, "Socks I can do with one hand, shoes too, but these things are a bitch."

Gray groaned in exasperation, "What am I? Your maid?"

"Hell no! Who would want such an ugly maid?"

Gray's eyebrow twitched, "This should do it." He said as he tied the knot so hard that it made Natsu's feet ache, "Wait here for a bit, I messaged Senji, he should be here in a few to pick you up."

"Right, thanks." Natsu said as he took the last clothes out of the bag; a white hoodie and a white scarf.

A few minutes after Gray left, Natsu heard a police siren go off for a few seconds and checked through the window. Senji's black police car was standing near the hospital's entrance with the said man leaning on the driver's seat's door. Sighing in relief that he was so quick to get here, Natsu quickly wrapped the scarf around his neck and made his way out of the ward.

Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, the teen quickly but carefully made his way through the hospital while trying to not draw the attention of…

"Where are you going, brat?" '_FUCK!_' Natsu cursed inwardly as he heard the old female's voice behind him.

Natsu turned around; a slight shiver ran through his spine from the glare the old, tall, pink-haired woman sent him, "Porlyusica-_sama_…"

"Answer my question." The woman demanded with a stern voice.

"I… Well…" To say that Natsu was scared shitless of this woman would be a huge understatement, "I feel a lot better now, and I thought I could take care of myself…"

"You what?" The woman practically growled, her gaze turning into a murderous glare, "Get back to your room." She ordered.

Natsu's hair covered his eyes, sweat enveloped his whole body as he felt the killing intent she emanated.

"Well?" She asked again, her aura of pure darkness enveloping the hall.

Feeling as if he was cornered, Natsu did the only thing a real man would do in this kind of situation: run for your life and hope that if she catches you you'll have a swift death. He quickly turned around and started to dash through the hallway of the hospital towards the stairs. Thinking he was home free, he spared once last glance behind him.

"Get back here!" Porlyusica shouted, hot on his heels.

"Holy shit! How the hell are you keeping up with me?!" he cried out and increased his speed, darting through the hall, barely managing to avoid bumping into the people walking around. Turning a corner, he accidentally bumped into a janitor, causing him and his wagon full of toilet paper and other necessities to be toppled over.

On the ground, Natsu grunted quietly while rubbing the back of his head, he opened his eyes and noticed Porlyusica glaring daggers at him.

Averting his gaze from hers, he got an idea. Picking up a near toilet paper roll, he threw it through the hall as far as he could and checked to see her expression. She looked even more irked, which showed that his plan was working! Natsu picked up as much paper as he could in one hand and started throwing the rolls around, angering the old doctor even more.

"What are you doing?" She growled.

"This!" He said as he lunged the last roll of paper towards her. The old woman caught it and was ready to shout at the boy again when she noticed that he made a break for it.

"Stop!" She shouted.

"No way!" He yelled as he kept running for the stairs.

Finally at the exit at the hospital, he bashed through the door and kept running for Senji's car.

"Yo, Natsu!" Senji called with a grin.

"GET INTO THE CAR!" Natsu shouted from the bottom of his lungs.

"Huh?" Senji shot him a puzzled glance and then noticed the old pink-haired woman running behind him, "Shit, quick, get in!" He said as he got in his car and started it up.

Natsu ran around his car and jumped into the passenger seat, "Go!" He shouted and, without arguing, the older man pressed on the gas while turning the police siren on and drove away as fast as his car let him.

"Wait! Stop!" The older woman shouted as she witnessed the car driving off, "Damn that boy! Just like his idiot father!" She exclaimed, "I don't even know why I care anymore!" And with those words she stomped off back to the hospital.

* * *

_5 minutes and 10 miles later…_

Wide-eyed and panting, both Natsu and Senji were in his car near the port of Magnolia, over five feet away from the ocean.

"Is… is she still there?" Senji asked with a shaky voice.

"I don't know…" Natsu replied with an equally terrified voice and expression on his face. Racing through the city at over 120mp/h wasn't even the cause of their current semi-panic attack. Oh no, not even close...  
_  
_'_Chief? Why is your siren on? Do you need back-up?_' They suddenly heard a voice through the radio.

The voice knocked Senji out of his daze and he quickly turned off the siren and picked up the radio.

'_No, HQ, we're fine._'

'_What were you chasing at that kind of speed?_'

Senji paused, '_Our lives._' And after that was said, the radio chatter stopped, unsurprisingly. He turned to Natsu: "Don't ever… EVER call me to pick you up from that hospital again. I mean it. What the hell did you do to piss of the granny so much anyway?"

"I…um… might've messed the hospital's halls up a bit with toilet paper?" The pinkette smiled sheepishly.

'_Toilet paper?_' Senji sweatdropped, "Not to mention you going home sooner than you were told, you messed up the hospital? You got a death wish or something?"

"Hey, I got in a bad situation; it was needed to get away!" He defended.

"And we almost died because of you!" The black-haired sighed, "In any case, I'm taking you home."

"No, wait." Natsu muttered.

"Huh? What is it?"

"I don't want to go home yet. Go to a bar or something." He said and, after noticing Senji's puzzled eyes, continued: "I'll explain while we're there, just go already." Shrugging, the older man nodded and started the car again.

* * *

It was already dark when Natsu was heading home. It was only 7 PM, but that was to be expected as it was early February. Senji was watching the road with a stoic expression while Natsu glanced out the window with a million thoughts per second running through his head. There were going to be a lot of fights in the near future, he was sure of that. He knew he had to keep Erza safe, and the way he thought about doing that made him hate himself. Never would he willingly do something like that to her, but this was a different situation all together.

Suddenly, the car stopped, waking Natsu from his thoughts, "We're here." Senji declared, "Look, Natsu, about your hand…" He pointed towards the said appendage, "Come to HQ after about a week, I think I know a way to make it heal faster."

"How the hell can you make a broken limb heal faster?" Natsu deadpanned.

"You'll see." The policeman smirked, "And seeing as you'll definitely need it to deal with those guys… I'll throw in a few training sessions, too."

"Seriously?!" Natsu's eyes beamed.

"Yeah, I've learned a few tricks while joining the force, I think those will help." He smiled.

"That reminds me; over the radio they called you… chief?"

"Yeah, Chief of Police, what of it?" He asked.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised they made a drunk like you the Chief." Natsu said, earning himself a smack upside the head, "Hey, damn it, I'm still injured!" He groaned.

"I don't give a shit, I'm the Chief, remember?" Senji smirked.

"Fuck you." The eighteen-year-old growled as he exited the car.

"Oi, Natsu!" Senji called, making the teen turn around to glance at him, "Here're your keys." He stated while throwing a single key at Natsu's direction which the teen caught easily, "And do me a favor: I think you hate yourself more than I do right now; point is, go easy on her, alright?"

Sighing tiredly and without answering, Natsu turned around and lazily walked towards his home. Near his door, he slipped the key in and unlocked it, entered and closed the door behind him, "I'm home!" He said to himself without the expectation of somebody answering him.

Suddenly, he heard a meow. His eyes widened in surprise as he turned around and noticed a blue cat staring curiously at him. If he didn't know any better, he'd say the cat was smiling.

"Hey there, little fella." Natsu smiled as he crouched and scratched behind one of its ears, earning another satisfied meow from the said little creature, "Hey!" He laughed as Happy jumped up Natsu's arm and made its way towards his shoulder. The cat purred as it made itself comfortable near his head, "You're such a lazy ass." The teen couldn't help but chuckle.

Trying not to disturb his little feline friend, Natsu slowly and carefully stood up and made his way towards his living room, flicking on the light's switch. He noticed something that looked like two picture frames on his humble wooden table. While walking towards it, he noticed that not only was his window fixed, his home in general had been tidied up quite a bit.

Near the table, he glanced at the two framed pictures placed close to one another. The first one was of him when he was still with Zancrow and the others. The thoughts of how fun it was back then and how it was now made him frown. Once he regarded the five standing with him as family, but now it was different. While he still considers both Gray and Cobra as no less than brothers, the image of him fighting Zancrow and Midnight was still something unbearable, even though it happened only three weeks ago, to him it seemed as it was just yesterday, not because he was out the whole time, of course. He didn't like it, he hated it. They had been with him almost his whole childhood, helping each other out with their harsh daily lives and being happy just by reaching a new day together, and now they would be fighting each other; that was unavoidable.

Quickly brushing off those grim thoughts, he glanced at the second picture. It was of him, Erza, Gray, Juvia, Lucy and Loki. '_My birthday really was like a damn triple date!_' He smiled faintly. His eighteenth birthday was something he'd remember for the rest of his life. Just by looking at a smiling Erza, his mood brightened up, but the notion of what he was about to do quickly ruined his mood again. He picked it up and noticed that there was something plastered on the back of the frame. He flipped it and saw a piece of paper held by some tape. He quickly unglued it and placed the picture frame back on the table.

Opening the piece of paper, he read its contents, recognizing the handwriting as Erza's:

_Welcome home, Natsu!_

_We hope you're feeling better. The time you spent in the hospital really had us worried._

_We managed to fix the damage done to your house, me, Gray, Lucy and the others. Your whole class pitched in! The principal paid for it – you better thank him – and I made sure Senji-san brought Happy food._

_If by any chance I'm not there when you get out of the hospital – call me, okay?_

_Love, Erza._

And after that there were the names of everyone who helped get Natsu's house back into shape. He noticed that almost all of his classmates' names were on it, including the main body of the student council.

Natsu's hair covered his eyes as he read through the note again, reading the last line out loud, "Love, Erza…" he crumpled the piece of paper, "Damn it, why do you have to make it even harder!?" He shouted at himself.

Tired, he plumped down on his sofa, a sudden movement that Happy didn't appreciate that much and jumped down. He put a paw on Natsu's lap and meowed, as if asking 'What's wrong?'

"Oh, I'm sorry." Natsu muttered with a sheepish smile as he lifted his right arm to allow the cat to climb onto his legs. Surprising him, the little creature made itself comfortable near the pinkette's injured left arm.

While scratching the back of Happy's ears, Natsu went back to his thoughts. He went back to the image of what he was about to do and he could feel, for the first time in his life, that his resolve was flinching. For the first time in his life he didn't want to do what he told himself he would. Hell, he would probably break his arm all over again to stop himself, but with one single glance at his younger picture where a boy. about fifteen years of age, with black hair and reddish-brown eyes was standing and glaring at him, Natsu's resolve re-established itself.

Natsu leaned towards the table and flipped over the picture frame where he, Erza and the other's were and placed the crumpled piece of paper next to it.

He then leaned back on his sofa and, while petting Happy, Natsu went to his thoughts again. He knew that if Erza was with him, she'd get involved in another fight, just like last time. If Gajeel hadn't shown himself when he did, who knows what could've happened to her. That thought didn't stand well with him.

If distancing himself from her meant she was safe, he'd do it gladly.

If breaking her heart meant that she was away from harm, then so be it.

* * *

**I ain't dead, and neither is this story. I just... needed a break.  
**


	19. A Hard Choice

**Yeah, I know I promised you guys I'd update Let it Burn first... woops, haha.**

* * *

**_Chapter 19: A Hard Choice_**

* * *

The life of a teenager… It's not as easy as one might initially think. We don't only worry about how to dress, if we look good, what others think about us and the like. Most adults think that we don't care what we do and that we don't realize the consequences of our actions. On the contrary, while not all of them, teenagers tend to think outside the box, we try to persevere and be better than the other person and that is what shapes our future. We worry about everything, not just the things that are in plain sight. We care about school, our friends, our life, our future, and it's the same with our story's protagonist, the pink-haired ex-delinquent Natsu Dragneel. He's the same as any other person his age and his thoughts and worries linger on the same things – besides school – that ours do, and yet he doesn't fail to realize the consequences of his past and what they might bring. That is why our protagonist is breaking himself apart trying to think of a decent solution to this whole predicament.

The walk to school this early in the morning - the usual routine for any kid his age; Natsu was deeply lost in thought - what should he do? The events that happened before he was admitted to the hospital for over three weeks should have made his next move obvious, yet it wasn't that easy. He thought he resolved himself but how can he even attempt to distance himself from her and, if necessary, break her heart in the process? So many questions and so few answers, it was annoying. He thought it was ironic, even school didn't make him think this much while simple things like these did. He couldn't help but laugh while walking down the usual path he took to school. Who was he kidding? Since when has stuff like this ever been easy?

Again, he laughed. Even he realized that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and that he was actually trying to _think_ of a way to solve things. Laughing from one's own stupidity, it's not as rare as you think it is. He pulled on his hair with his good arm, '_This is so frustrating!_' He exclaimed in his mind. Whatever he was going to do, he'd figure it out once he's there. He's never been one to devise a plan and so he wasn't about to start now. Whatever happens, he'll just have to deal with it on the spot, just like it's always been.

Yet he failed to realize that he was already next to the school's entrance. He facepalmed and sighed, '_Guess it's now or… now?_' Natsu let his arm fall lifelessly down and continued to stroll towards the school's entrance. The yard was empty; no one was buzzing around or trying to ask him where he's been because the lessons had already begun. Good thing he decided to skip the first lesson because, surely, Erza was waiting for him before it did. They hadn't, or at least he hasn't, seen each other for three weeks and Gray had obviously told everyone that he was going to come today. Oh those loudmouthed friends…

And upon entering the school, it felt as if all emotion was devoid from Natsu. Sure, Erza wasn't there, she was either at her lessons or in the council room, but still, knowing that he's in the same building with her and that he'll meet with her today did him in. "WHATEVER! JUST START MOVING DAMN IT!" He yelled at himself after realizing that he'd been standing in the same place for over a few minutes already.

Natsu literally pushed himself forward and proceeded to class. No one seemed to be around so he got worried that he might have unintentionally skipped the second lesson too. He checked his watch; he was late only five minutes. Good, Gildarts won't yell at him… too much.

That being said, Natsu was already in front of the door to his class. He took a deep breath and opened the door. The room fell silent as eyes glanced at him. His eyes met an older man's gaze, "Natsu!" Gildarts exclaimed with a growing smile.

"Sorry I'm late, overslept." Natsu said, returning the smile, albeit more faintly, before closing the door behind him and proceeding to his seat. What he didn't expect, though, was Lucy standing up from her seat and practically jumping towards him, enveloping in an excruciatingly painful embrace, her breasts in his face, almost chocking the life out of him.

"Natsu…" She whispered so only he could hear, which didn't matter as she hugged him in the class in the middle of the lesson, but let's not mind the small details… "How are you?"

"Lucy… air…!" He gasped.

"Mmm? What?" She glanced down at him with worry.

"Y-your… breasts… can't… b-breathe…" By this point Natsu's face was turning pale.

Lucy, finally realizing that she almost sent Natsu to the hospital – again, finally let go of him and fixed his collar while smiling sheepishly, "Sorry…"

"No worries." He smiled back, "Just don't do that again. If there's a way I want to go out, it's not by boob-crushing." He said, making the class laugh and the blonde blush. Natsu patted her shoulder and continued his way to his seat. Gray was sitting next to him and had his eyes closed. Was he sleeping? He opened one of his eyes and glanced at Natsu. The brunette nodded as Natsu smiled faintly before getting comfortable in his seat. He leaned back on his chair and let his uninjured arm fall back while his eyes gazed at the ceiling. It looked like Gildarts was giving Natsu a freebie, who was he to not take chances like these? He was about to slip into sandman's land when he felt someone staring at him. He tilted his head upwards and saw Lucy quickly turning her head to gaze back at the blackboard. Natsu groaned in annoyance and ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook. He scribbled something on it, crumpled it and threw it at Lucy's direction. The piece of paper landed directly in front of her on her notebook. Natsu smirked, if he couldn't make it through studying, he could always try baseball.

The blonde noticed the scrap of paper that landed on her notebook and turned back where she saw Natsu staring at her and voicelessly saying 'read it.' She did what she was told and unfolded the paper, reading its contents.

_Why are you staring at me so much? It's not like I died!_

_And before you ask – no. I didn't touch your breasts._

Lucy blushed after reading the last line, but shook it off. There was a doodle of an angry Natsu with a tick mark on his forehead scribbled next to the writing. She took her pen and wrote a response.

_Is it bad to worry about you? You were gone for over three weeks! For the second time this year! Moreover because of an injury!_

And she threw the paper back towards him, waiting for a response. After about a minute, the same piece of paper landed on her notebook again, this time with writing on the other side of it.

_Don't you have exams to worry about or something? Save it, I'm fine._

She sighed, figures he'd put up the tough guy act.

_Natsu, your arm was broken, no – more like shattered. Again – two times. And you want me, us, to stop worrying?_

_And hey, shouldn't you be worried about exams too?!_

_And what about Erza?_

She wondered if she should add the last question or not. Their relationship was none of her business but, being the nosy person that she is, what bad would a little snooping around do? Again, the paper landed on her notebook with three words written on it.

_What about her?_

She quirked an eyebrow; did they get into a fight?

_Did you see her after you got out of the hospital?_

And she threw the paper over her towards him. Now she definitely needed to know more. The paper came back, this time only a single word on it.

_No._

Lucy's eyes widened slightly at the short response. Let's go straight to the point now, shall we?

_Did you two get into a fight?_

Five minutes, ten minutes – nothing. She turned back to see if Natsu was writing and saw him sleeping while leaning back on his chair, the piece of paper unfolded and lying on his desk. She frowned, is he trying to ignore her? Good luck. She tore some paper from her own notebook and began writing on it when the bell rang. Even better! She can ask him directly.

Lucy stood up and was ready to go to him when the teacher spoke up, "Everyone, get out of the class, except Natsu." Gildarts declared, making Lucy groan; she wasn't going to find out anything, is she?

Natsu sighed, it wasn't as if he was surprised, this was going to happen sooner or later, and he hoped it'd be later.

As everyone left, Natsu stood up and went towards the older man, "Yeah? What is it?"

"How are you?" Gildarts asked.

"Considering? Pretty good." The pinkette admitted, "My shoulder was practically destroyed again, but the doctors managed to fix it, don't ask me how."

"And what about your jaw?" Gildarts asked again, surprising Natsu.

"How the hell do you know everything?"

"I'm your teacher; I'm supposed to know everything that happens to you brats." He said, "And besides, word flies fast around here."

Natsu sighed, "True. Well, it still hurts if that's what you want to know, but apparently I got some kind of super expensive surgery, so I can talk and eat pretty easily."

The older man quirked an eyebrow, "Who paid for it?"

Natsu shrugged, "Beats me."

'_Him again, huh?_' Gildarts chuckled slightly.

"What're you laughing about?" The teen asked, eyeing his teacher suspiciously.

"Nothing, just remembering the old days." He answered truthfully, "How are you and the president?"

"What?" Natsu chocked out, taken aback by the question.

"Senji told me what you're about to do." He explained.

"How do you even know him?" Natsu asked; it felt as if he didn't even know the person standing in front of him.

"He's the Chief of Police, I'm supposed to know him if I'm teaching idiots like you."

Natsu sweatdropped; that actually made sense. His gaze stiffened, "Look, we're not here to talk about my personal life, are we old man-_sensei_?" He emphasized the word.

The orange-haired man sighed, "Look, I don't care what you do, but if you destroy our council president – I'll shave you bald." Natsu's face paled, he wasn't joking, "And don't call me old!"

An exchange of a few minutes of insults ran by before Gildarts straightened his posture and began talking, "Natsu, what are you going to do about your studies?"

"Who knows?" The teen shrugged.

"Don't 'who knows' me. I've already put my neck out on the line and added grades to your indebted tests, but you've got to study for the last exams!"

"I appreciate the help. I'll figure something out. And besides, if shit hits the fan there's always the force, right?" Natsu replied.

"How the hell are you going to join the police if you aren't studying? Being a cop requires studies too, you know." The teacher persisted.

Natsu groaned, "You do realize that the _Chief of Police_ is almost like my older_ brother_, right?" he noted the words.

Gildarts sighed, "Well, at least you have a back-up plan."

The bell rang, marking the end of recess, "Don't I always?" Natsu grinned before walking back towards his seat.

The students came pouring in the class and everyone took their seats. Lucy shot Natsu a concerned look to which the pinkette only snorted a reply. He couldn't be bothered, not now. Maybe she could help him, maybe she couldn't. He couldn't take the risk. You know the saying 'bros over hoes?' Well, it's the same with girls.

He placed his head on the desk and tried slowly drifting away to sleep, ignoring the pieces of paper hitting his head which were sent by the angered blonde. '_Just ignore it, Natsu. Ignore it!_' He told himself repeatedly until finally he dozed off.

Natsu was woken up by the bell and an angry Lucy standing near him, poking at his head, "Wake up!"

"Lucy… five more minutes…" Natsu groaned.

"Stop ignoring me and wake up already." She persisted.

"Fuck it, okay! What?!" He growled while he sat up straight, gazing at her with sleepy eyes.

"What's going on between you and Erza?" The girl asked.

Natsu facepalmed, "Not this again. Look, Lucy, this is between me and Erza, not _you_, me and Erza. Leave it like that, okay?" He said as he got up from his chair, grabbed his bag and walked towards the door. '_Screw this; I'm going home before…_' His thoughts were cut off when the door before him opened and something latched on to him.

"Why didn't you call, idiot?" He heard a familiar and heartwarming voice. '_Of all the times, why now?! Just fucking great!_' He screamed inwardly.

He couldn't find what to say. His heart was screaming at him to return the embrace, but his hands didn't move. His head knew that this had to stop. This had to stop if he didn't want her to end up like Lisanna.

Gildarts noticed the hesitation in Natsu and sighed, standing up and walking past them through the exit, '_I don't even want to think about it, much less see it… Teenage drama, psh._' Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried about both of them.

"Erza…" Natsu whispered, his shaking hand slowly rising to grab her shoulder and push her away slightly, "Because it's over, Erza." He said plainly. The whole class went dead silent, even Lucy's gasp and Gray's sigh could be heard.

"Huh? What?" The redhead asked, dumbfounded, her eyes gazing at Natsu's eyes, shadowed by his hair.

"Don't make me repeat myself, I said it's over." He said before walking past her and out of the class.

Erza kept standing there, unmoving, her eyes wide as saucers and her breathing intensified slightly. What was he saying? It was over? What did she do? What happened? A million thoughts per second ran through her head, questions to which she had no answers kept popping up. Erza frowned, she'd be damned if she didn't find out what the hell he was talking about.

She turned around and went to follow the pinkette. She caught up to him and grabbed his hand, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"What the hell do you mean what's wrong?! Didn't I just say? It's over! How many times do I have to keep repeating myself, huh?!"

"Stop shouting at me…!" She screamed back, albeit with a shaky voice, "You can't just up and say it's over without giving me a reason!"

"You want a reason? Fine!" He bit his lip, this was going to hurt, "I don't have time for you, you're bossy, annoying, demanding and you fucking beat me for whatever reason you please!" Okay, this was not what he was going to say, but it was a hell of a lot better.

Erza kept her stern gaze, "That's all? Well thanks, because your qualities aren't better either! You're loud, dumb, annoying, impulsive… the list goes on and on. Not to mention you bring this up after getting out of the hospital!"

That did it, "And who's to blame for me getting hospitalized, huh?!" Erza's eyes widened, that one question struck her deep. She had always blamed herself for those two times Natsu got severely injured and even though the guy always said that it wasn't her fault it didn't shrink her guilt. And now that he himself was blaming her… it felt as if she was tearing apart, "I had to defend you against that blue-haired faggot who ended up shooting me! And now three weeks before you decide to come out and again I got myself busted up! You're nothing but a burden!" He shouted at her.

Natsu could feel his hand bleeding; he was clenching his fist so hard that his nails dug into his palm. He wanted to punch himself, over fifty times if that would've helped, but he had to stay on his feet. He had to finish what he started, both with Erza and Zee.

He noticed her eyes swelling up as tears ran down her cheeks. Her eyes fixated on an unknown point, her body shaking without her uttering a single word. Again Natsu had to bit his lip. '_What the fuck am I doing?! Damn it all to hell!_' He slowly turned around, his hair still covering his eyes, "Don't see me again" '_It's for your own good, trust me._'

He walked. He just walked. He didn't know where and he didn't care. He just needed to get away from her, fast. He just told her something that, knowing her, might have just broken her a little bit inside. After a few minutes, unknowingly, Natsu's feet brought him to the school's roof. He dropped his bag and took out a cigarette from his shirt's pocket, put it in his mouth, took out a lighter, lit it and inhaled. His mind was a wreck, what the hell was he doing? He kept asking himself that. He's a damn teenager, these things only happen in movies or in shitty stories where the protagonist was the good-guy type who'd save everyone by putting himself on the line. Was he one of these characters? He told himself he wasn't. He was a delinquent, for God's sake! What business did heroism have with him?

He turned around and dropped to the floor, his back against the railings. It was funny, every time he'd feel down he'd come here. It was almost like his last escape, yet it didn't overwhelm his feelings one bit. He put his hand against his forehead and covered his eyes, but the tears that escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks were still visible.

"Damn it!" He shouted through a shaking voice, his cigarette almost out while he held it between his fingers, his hand unmoving. He had it, he needed to get away and try to solve this situation now instead of postponing it and dealing with it on the fly. He took out his phone and speed dialed.

The person finally picked up, a voice on the other end of the line spoke.

'_Yeah? What's up?_'

'_Senji. Screw the week; I'm coming to HQ in an hour.' _Natsu declared, his voice steeled.

Senji went silent for a moment before giving his answer, '_Fine. I'm at HQ, do what you want._'

Natsu didn't need to be told twice. He hung up, stood up, took his bag and made for the exit.

* * *

Natsu was next to the HQ building, wearing his grey sweatpants, white sneakers, a black tee and a white jumper, his left arm still in a cast. He tucked on the bag he held and breathed in some air. Resolving himself, he entered the place where he would never enter under normal circumstances. He walked to the receiving desk, finding a woman with dark brown hair, fully dressed in the blue police outfit with a police hat.

"Excuse me?" Natsu inquired as he walked up, "I'm here to see Chief Kiyomasa?"

"Last name." The woman declared sternly, dark-blue eyes rising to glare at him.

Natsu flinched at her gaze, "W-what?"

"State your last name, now." She replied coldly.

"O-oh, uh… Dragneel."

The woman gave him one last glance before flipping some pages on her notebook, "You're not in here."

"What? Do I need to book an appointment to see my friend or something?" Natsu asked, genuinely surprised.

The brown-haired woman glared at him again, "I do not care what your relationship with the Chief is; you will not enter without a reason."

Now Natsu glared, "Are you freaking kidding me? Wha-"

"Oi." He was interrupted by a familiar voice, "Makina, didn't I tell you if anyone asks for me to let them in?"

"Chief, you didn't say who to let in and the rules say that you can't let anyone in." She directed her glare at the newly arrival.

The man sighed, "You just have to be a pain in the ass, don't you?" He asked no one in particular, yet making the woman smirk, "Come on, Natsu."

"Chief, you still can't let him in, he doesn't have an appointment." Makina spoke again.

Senji groaned before searching for something in his pocket, "Than consider him an official trainee." He said as he picked something from his pocket and slammed it on the left side of Natsu's chest.

Natsu glanced down and saw a paper badge saying 'Trainee' on it glued to him, "What the hell?"

"Don't ask." Senji replied.

Makina sighed, "Fine. Do what you want."

And so both Natsu and Senji quickly made their way past the receiving desk and went through a series of corridors, "Why's she such a bitch?" Natsu couldn't help but ask.

"Oh…" Senji grinned sheepishly, "Probably because I put her behind the desk. She is a Colonel, after all…"

Natsu couldn't help but facepalm, "Why the hell would you put a Colonel behind a desk?"

"To annoy her?" Was the simple reply/question.

"What, you like her or something?"

"Who wouldn't like those melons?"

Natsu facepalmed again, trying his best not to ask what he wanted to, but, unfortunately, curiosity got to him, "Wha-"

Senji interrupted him, "Gs." He stated, making Natsu go wide-eyed, "Yeah, that was my reaction too."

Moments later they were already underground and entered a large room. There were multiple lockers in one corner and it was littered with training equipment: running tracks, weight lifting machines, punching bags, mats and a ring in the middle of the room. Natsu couldn't help but whistle at the display, "Wouldn't have expected HQ to have such an awesome training room." He said as he lifted a five kilo dumbbell with his right hand.

"It didn't. I had it installed after I made chief. You know, to keep the officers ready for anything." Senji smiled, "Anyway, sit down." He said after pulling up a chair near a table, "What happened?"

Natsu sat down and frowned. He explained what happened when he went to school, both the pestering of Lucy and the conversation with Erza. Senji listened intently, sometimes murmuring a 'mhm' or simply nodding his head to whatever the pinkette would say. After he finished talking, Senji sighed, "You know, I'd call you a dick right now, but I probably would've done the same thing."

"Whatever!" Natsu groaned, "You said you could fix my arm."

"We'll see." He said as he stood up and went towards where the lockers were, "Take your cast off." And Natsu did as he was told, unwrapping the bandages to loosen his cast while Senji opened one of the lockers and took some kind of bottle out of it.

A loud thump was heard when Natsu's cast fell to the floor, his bare arm was instantly littered with goose bumps after being showered in the cold underground air. Senji placed the bottle he took on the table and went to examine Natsu's arm. The pinkette glanced at the bottle and quirked an eyebrow, "What's this?"

"Contraband." Senji stated, "Sometimes the border guards bring us some for investigation or we confiscate from minors, you know the deal. Anyway, drink up, you'll need it." Now Natsu looked quizzically at him, "Look, I'll give you the short explanation," The policeman began, "but I need to ask you first. Are you sure you want to do this? My guess is there's only about a thirty percent chance that your arm's bones won't get shattered irreparably from this."

"Story of my life." Natsu sighed, "Yeah, I'll do it."

Senji touched Natsu's shoulder with his finger, making the teen wince slightly, "Then you'd better drink up cause this is going to hurt like hell." And without asking further, Natsu grabbed the bottle and chugged it down, drinking almost half of it in one go.

"Come on." He said as he placed the bottle on the ground near his leg and straightened himself.

"Slowly raise your arm and try to keep it stretched out." Senji instructed and Natsu did as he was told, slowly raising his arm, albeit shakily and painfully. Natsu winced again as he couldn't raise it much further and was about to let it drop before Senji caught it by his elbow, "You ready?" He asked, Natsu nodded.

"You're a brave one, kid." Senji stated before he placed his other arm on Natsu's shoulder and pulled it backwards while pulling his elbow forward. Natsu felt like he was shot fifty times in his shoulder. He screamed in agony as he felt his bones jolting in and out of place, even his screams failing to mute the sound of his bones cracking.

Oh how he wished he'd drank the whole bottle.


	20. Visiting Phantom

_**A/N:** Well this has taken some time to update, hasn't it? Sorry it took so long, kinda lost inspiration for this. I'm back though, muhahahaha! That's why I want you guys to do me a favor and shower me in reviews! Seriously, if all the 50 something favorites/follows reviewed this wouldn't that be just friggin' awesome? No, seriously. Is it that hard to leave a review?_

* * *

_**Fairy Tail High**_

* * *

_**Chapter twenty: Visiting Phantom**_

* * *

A pink haired teenager was sprawled out across the floor, panting heavily. The upper part of his body was exposed, revealing toned muscles on his pelvis, chest and arms. He breathed in heavily and breathed out; his hair shadowed his eyes slightly as his mouth was wide open to enable him to take in as much air as possible. He felt his left shoulder tingle slightly but it didn't hurt as much as it did five minutes ago.

Natsu had been receiving 'treatment' from the Chief of Police to 'repair' his arm. Though, if you were to ask the pinkette this all seemed like bull. He honestly thought Senji was a sadist or something; making him go through this excruciating procedure to fix an arm? That seemed unrealistic. He had to admit though; he started to feel the appendage.

"How are you feeling?" Senji asked and watched as Natsu picked up the same bottle he drank before and lifted it up with his right arm. He placed it against his lips and raised it, drinking a few large gulps in one go until the glass bottle was completely empty. The pinkette let his arm dangle to the ground before letting the bottle freely roll through the hard floor.

Senji sighed at the display before taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and drawing a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and lit it with his lighter, "Oi." He could hear Natsu's slightly shaking voice; no surprise there, his arm was broken and readjusted over ten times, after all, "Mind giving me one?" The pinkette asked and the black haired man stood up and extended his arm, his pack of cigarettes in his hand. Senji's eyes went wide when Natsu raised his injured left arm shakily and took out the cigarette before placing it against his mouth. He grinned madly as his eyes showed through his hair, "I'll need a light too, you know."

Senji laughed as he lit Natsu's cigarette with his small black lighter. He noticed the pinkette wince slightly when he lowered his arm and his shoulder moved backwards, but other than that it seemed as if he was never injured in the first place, "So it worked. Hell, I thought your arm would break into five different pieces."

Natsu chuckled humorlessly as he exhaled a grey cloud of smoke, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, asshole." He retorted and inhaled.

The black haired man observed his body's movements carefully before looking up at Natsu's eyes, "Truthfully though; how is it?"

The pinkette's onyx eyes met Senji's eyes before he sighed, "Stings like a bitch." He answered and exhaled more smoke, "But besides that, I can move it. The pain's gradually easing up so it should fuck off in a few days I guess."

The policeman nodded, "What about movement?"

Natsu put his cigarette out by rubbing it against the concrete floor before he sat up and rotated his shoulders carefully, wincing when something in his left appendage popped, "Ouch." He groaned, "As you can see, it's pretty stiff and gives me hell if I rub it the wrong way, so to speak."

Senji smirked slightly when Natsu stood up, "You drank that whole bottle; it had an ABV of 40%, you know?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, "Speaking of which… mind giving me something non-alcoholic to drink? That shit tasted worse than Lucy's cooking – which is pretty friggin' bad by the way."

Senji chuckled at the statement and threw him a plastic bottle of water he had placed on the table. Natsu surprised him yet again when he caught it with his left arm. He drank almost the whole thing before throwing the now empty bottle back to Senji, "So… what was it you were telling me about training?" The pinkette asked with a serious expression and the black haired man smirked.

"Aye." He said and put his cigarette in the ashtray before standing up from his chair. He motioned for Natsu to follow as he walked towards a punching bag. He turned to Natsu and motioned towards the bag with his thumb, "Hit this as hard as you can with your stronger right arm." Senji instructed and Natsu nodded.

He walked towards it, stopped, bent his legs slightly and cocked his right fist back. Shouting as he thrust forward with his fist, Natsu hit the punching bag, making it dangle to the other side as the chains holding it started creaking loudly. He turned to the black haired man and noticed him watching curiously with his arms folded, "Good." The policeman nodded, "You're strong and you can throw a mean punch. Considering your age and that you had almost no training you're better than I initially expected you to be." He said, making the pinkette roll his eyes.

"What are you, master Splinter the rat?" He mocked, making Senji glance at him blankly.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up smartass. You'll be begging me to teach this to you after you see it." He said, making Natsu quirk an eyebrow as he watched Senji cock back his right fist and close his eyes. Senji never lied about matters like these. The pinkette watched closely as Senji inhaled and exhaled deeply, clutching and unclutching his fist in rapid succession. Natsu noticed the movement in his muscles; mainly his biceps and triceps. They were inflating and deflating rapidly, following the motions his fist made.

Suddenly, Senji opened his eyes and smashed his fist against the punching bag in a speed that Natsu almost had a hard time noticing. Wind blew around the room as Senji's fist made contact with the sand bag. The bag seemed to be lying still in the air for a few milliseconds before the chains holding it simply shattered and the bag flew through the room, splitting in half mid-flight before the two parts hit different parts of the room, scattering sand all over the place.

"Falcon punch, bitch!" Senji shouted before shaking his wrist and hissing when he felt his muscles tensing and stinging his arm, '_Damn, this hurts like a motherfucker. That's what I get for staying on the sidelines for so long._' He thought with a frown before turning to the pink haired teen whose mouth went agape as he stared at what was left of the punching bag with wide eyes.

"What the _hell _was that?" He said while his brain tried to process which one of the two punching bag's halves he should be pointing his finger at.

Senji hummed and scratched his chin in thought, "I had this trainer in the police academy, real asshole at times if you ask me, but he sure did know how to fight. Hell, rumors were spreading around the place that he smashed through a three meter think concrete wall with his fist alone." Senji explained and Natsu nodded, "He taught me that the best way you could fight to your full potential was mixing martial arts with street fighting. Basically, you use different techniques and stuff that martial arts teaches you and hone the movement of your muscles. Add that to the instincts, experience and sheer power you gain from street fighting and that'll make you one mean fucker with the reflexes of a world league boxing champion."

Natsu stared blankly at him, "Okay, I know what gave you the idea. That still doesn't explain how the hell you managed to break _metallic chains _and send a God damn punching bag flying. Not to mention you split the thing in half." He said, making the policeman chuckle.

"It's complex shit and I can't be bothered explaining now." He said and noticed the frown that etched itself on the pinkette's features, "Don't worry though, that's what I'll be teaching you later on." He said with a smile and couldn't help but laugh when Natsu's face instantly brightened and his eyes beamed with excitement. Talk about mood swings, "But note this: you won't be able to use it regularly." The black haired man warned, "Using this kind of force makes the muscles around your bones tighten and loosen at extreme speeds, causing strain on the whole limb. If you use it too frequently or brashly you might just lose your arm."

Natsu let out a sharp 'tsk' at the warning, "Cut the smart talk and get to the teaching already!"

* * *

Erza sat in the council room on her chair, leaning back while she stared at the ceiling and sighed loudly. She was tired, she really was. Dealing with the school, worrying sick about Natsu and then hearing what he said really did take its toll on her. It was evident in her sore eyes that she had been crying for the past two hours after everything went down with the pinkette.

The redhead had been trying to understand what had happened. What had caused it and when would this stop. She contemplated it ever since it happened and was still doing so. She found it ironic; she was one of the best students in her school, maybe even the best; someone who could solve an extremely hard problem in less than thirty seconds. But when it came to matters like these she felt like a drop-out.

She cried. Oh did she cry. She knew that Natsu didn't mean any of it but it still hurt to hear him say those kinds of things. But, after everything that happened, she had a hunch as to why Natsu said what he said. How could she not? She had seen it first-hand.

The brutal fighting.

Knowing Natsu, he was probably worried that what happened to him might happen to her. '_Stupid Natsu!_' she thought to herself. Leave it to men to try acting like heroes.

She had her doubts at first. Who wouldn't? Being told such things by the person you could honestly say you love would mess with anyone's mind. But after thinking it through she reached a strong conclusion. Natsu would _never _say such things to people he held precious. Hell, he wasn't the kind of person who would say that to anyone. He just wasn't that kind of character; she probably knew that better than anyone and that made her beat herself up inside for even thinking for one slight moment that Natsu had actually meant what he said.

The redhead got over it; she had to. But there was something else that bugged her. Natsu's disappearance. After the fight they had, Natsu simply vanished with no trace. No one knew where he went, he didn't even tell a single word to Gray. He probably left school right after they fought – she guessed – but she had no idea where he went afterwards.

She glanced at the phone in her hand; Gray's reply had come.

_I honestly have no idea who shoved that stick up his ass. Just give him some space and I'm sure he'll cool off. Whatever happened today I'm sure it'll blow over sooner or later so don't worry about it, okay?_

She remained impassive after reading the message and just placed her phone on the table in front of her and let her hand slump down. She closed her eyes shut and was lost in her thoughts again.

Erza didn't know what would happen if she tried, but she would, come hell or high water, try to patch things up with Natsu the next time she sees him.

* * *

"That's right, combine martial arts with street fighting." Senji reassured Natsu while scratching his chin, "The best way for you to go would be to learn some Capoeira to strengthen your legs and enhance their movement. Basically rule out any needless movements and add precision to your strikes." He explained with a nod, "Then learning the basics of Muay Thay would help you gain the strength needed to use your legs efficiently. Finally, add police trained hand-to-hand combat so you can strike with your fists at the right places and you would know how to disarm an enemy should the need arise."

Natsu folded his arms as he thought about what Senji had said before shaking his head slowly, "Capoeira and Muay Thay? Are you kidding me? I want to fight, not fly all over the place."

"You'd only be learning the basics, not moves or anything. Besides, it would take you years to learn some decent Capoeira." The black haired man stated with a sigh, "And you can add the fact that you need to control your feelings as well."

"What? Feelings as well? What the hell does that have to do with anything?" The pinkette asked with a frown.

"The way I see it, when you fought Gerard a few months back, you took Erza to the yard before taking care of the guy, right?" Senji asked and Natsu nodded, "Well, you should've taken care of him first. Yeah, sure, you panicked and decided to take care of her. But if you would've thought it through you would've noticed that she was in shock. Taking care of Gerard and taking her to a hospital was what you should have done. Besides that, if you had training you would have been able to disarm the guy when he drew the knife at you."

Natsu grit his teeth while glaring at the policeman, "You weren't even there! What the fuck do you know?!" He shouted, making the older man frown.

"Maybe." The man admitted, "But I know enough to say that you aren't fit to go against Zee… or anyone for that matter." He said, making Natsu's eyes widen as he clenched his fists.

"Stop joking around! I could kick all six of their asses if the cowards showed up!" Natsu shouted again and Senji's frown only deepened.

The black haired man sighed, "Alright. Follow me." He said as he walked past the pinkette and motioned to follow him with his arm.

"Where the hell are we going now?" Natsu asked, annoyed by the fact that Senji had just brushed him off like that.

"You'll see." Was all that Senji said in a cool tone.

* * *

Cobra walked through the many corridors surrounding the school he was in. His apparel consisted of a black jacket(his school's one and only piece of uniform) with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a white shirt underneath the jacket, black skinny jeans and simple black sneakers.

He watched as many of the school's students were fighting with one another, beating each other's faces in with their fists, chairs, tables, sometimes bashing their heads against walls. He sighed; this was typical for this place, although he couldn't say he hated it. On the contrary, it just made his life that more interesting. He suddenly stopped, humming to himself happily as a table flew by him before he continued onto his destination.

The redhead kept walking with his hands shoved in his pockets until he reached the place he was heading to in the first place. An almost destroyed door with a small white sign above it stating '3-B.' He pushed the door open and was instantly met with multiple glares. Looking around, he saw around twenty people standing around, all of them dressed similarly to him. One of them walked in front of Cobra and glared up at him.

"The fuck do you want, huh?" He growled out, making Cobra chuckle.

"Move. I'm here to see Gajeel and I'd hate it if I'd have to bust your faces in to get to him." He said and sent a malicious glare while grinning. The man shuddered slightly before moving out of the way and allowing Cobra access into the classroom. He passed the many black-clad people before finally reaching a person sitting on a desk, a smoke in his mouth as his red eyes glared holes at the redhead. The man had long spiky black hair and multiple piercings on his face. He wore the same jacket Cobra was wearing, the only difference was that his sleeves were completely ripped off at his shoulders; under the jacket he wore a simple red tee shirt, loose black pants and black combat boots.

"Yo, Gajeel." Cobra greeted cheerfully with a wave of his hand.

"What do you want, snake?" The black haired man growled at the redhead, making Cobra raise his hands up defensively.

"Whoa, chill. I ain't here to fight." Cobra said with uneasiness in his voice, making Gajeel's eyes narrow at him.

"Oh? I thought you were going to brag about going after a girl." Gajeel growled out again, "Too bad I was around that last time, huh?" He said, reminding Cobra of the time when he, Zancrow and Midnight fought Natsu.

Cobra sighed while scratching the back of his head, "Look, you know all too well that I had to do that."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it." Gajeel replied coolly as he stood up and walked out of the class, Cobra following him, "So? What are the fuckers up to? Salamander told me something about a 'main event.'" He asked as they entered the corridor and Cobra closed the door behind him.

The redhead scowled, "I honestly have no idea. Zee's keeping the details of the plan to himself. All I know that it's going to be sometime a month from now." He said and groaned over dramatically, "I get the feeling he knows that I'm feeding info to you guys."

Gajeel grinned menacingly, "Well wouldn't that be just _wonderful_?" He said, making the redhead narrow his eyes at the black haired man.

"You can be a real dick sometimes, you know that, right?" Cobra growled and Gajeel only laughed at his expense. Cobra sighed tiredly, "How's Natsu?"

"Pretty fucked up." Gajeel replied bluntly as he exhaled smoke and took his cigarette in between his fingers, "You know he was shot in his shoulder, right?" Gajeel asked and Cobra nodded as a response, "Well, the bullet screwed up his shoulder pretty bad. Sure, it healed, but you guys breaking his arm only reopened old wounds."

Cobra frowned, "Mid's a fucking idiot; I should've kicked his ass right after he did that." He growled, making Gajeel nod.

"In any case, Senji's looking into his situation right now. He told me he knew of a way to fix the bastard's arm so he should be alive and kicking pretty soon." He explained.

"You sure he's going to be ready for this life again?" Cobra asked the question that has been lurking in both of their minds. They knew Natsu and they knew that after what happened he would surely try to stop Zee.

"Honestly, now he ain't got shit." Gajeel said and inhaled from his cigarette, "But Senji said he'd get him back on his feet so I guess it's all good."

Cobra nodded slowly and leaned back on a wall. He lifted his head up to stare at the ceiling as he closed his eyes and a smile formed on his features, "You know, this is getting kinda nostalgic."

"How the hell do you find this nostalgic?" Gajeel asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"You know… everything's going back to what it once was. The fighting, the plotting, the… 'Not giving a fuck' attitude, Zee's bullshit… Natsu's going to start getting stronger. Soon he'll realize that he can't do shit alone. What do you think will happen then?" Cobra said with a glance at the black haired man, the smile still present on his features.

Gajeel huffed, "He'll go batshit crazy. Isn't that how it's always been? He'll obviously need manpower though if he wants to face the Six."

The redhead nodded, "That's right. And where do you think he might get that?"

Gajeel froze for a second before his red eyes met the grinning face of Cobra, "Grimoire High." He said.

"Yup." Cobra said cheerfully, "Things are going to become interesting again." He said in a sing-song voice before turning around to leave.

"Where the hell are you going?" Gajeel asked while puffing out more smoke.

"Back before the head starts wondering there the fuck I'm at."

"I can't believe you listen to those two jackasses." Gajeel said in disgust, making Cobra shake his head.

"It ain't by choice, believe me. I need to stay in line for Zee to stop suspecting me of shit." He said with a tired sigh, "From the way you're talking about them I'm assuming you aren't going to ally under 3-A, huh?" The redhead asked and Gajeel only grunted as a response.

"What do you think?" The black haired man said, making Cobra chuckle.

"Be on your toes then." He said while walking away and waving his hand, "They're going to send the drunktard your way." Cobra added and Gajeel groaned. Great, more dumbasses to take care of.

* * *

Natsu groaned in annoyance as he tried to fix his seatbelt. The damned thing was chafing him. He glared up at Senji who only chuckled at his expense. The police car drove through the many streets of Magnolia's southern district until they reached the border between the southern and eastern districts. Natsu frowned at the amount of policemen stationed around the borderline. Last time he was even near the district was almost two years ago, yet he still couldn't believe how much the place had reverted back to its old state… no, it was even worse than it was before.

_When life is gone without a trace. And hope is lost in time's embrace.  
I won't wait or hesitate 'cause I'm pushing through._

Electronic rock music blared through the car's speakers as Senji drove past the security checkpoint after identifying himself as a police officer to the bordering guards. Natsu sighed in relief as he unlocked that damned seatbelt and let it retract back into its default position. Senji smirked slightly at the pinkette's relief, "Dude, you're in a police car." He said, making Natsu glare at him and the policeman chuckled again.

"Who cares! Fix the damn thing and I might not rip it out next time." Natsu warned and Senji's chuckle changed into a full blown laugh.

_Trapped and isolated. Time is dislocated.  
Eternity is what a moment seems when I am lost inside this dream._

Natsu listened to the last verse of the song while bobbing his head at the thrashing rhythm. He looked through the window and felt a tingle in his heart as he frowned at what he was seeing. The place was barren; multiple abandoned buildings adorning the district, some of them even had grass growing on their sides. Trash scattered around the streets and people, from kids to older-aged people, walking around aimlessly, some of them sleeping in alleyways, some of them eating what scrapes of food they had managed to scrounge here. His frown deepened when he saw a child, no more than twelve years old, searching through a dumpster in search of food. The child reminded Natsu of himself when he was younger; this place was their hunting grounds as well. He wondered how could a child live here with all the drugs spreading around the district like wildfire.

The pinkette couldn't believe how much things went to shit. The eastern district of Magnolia, the poor district, dubbed 'Phantom' by the city's inhabitants due to the people that tended to roam the place. Natsu clenched his fists; when he was the head of the Six the district was clean due to what they used to do. The pinkette used to be a very aggressive youth and he had to vent his frustrations regularly. Who better than the scum drug-dealers and rapists hanging around the place? That made the teen feel self-justified about his overly aggressive attitude.

Although he never claimed that he controlled the place, nor did he want to. People had appreciated what they did for them by cleaning out the trash, even though it was just because they needed to vent, and came to regard all six of them as heroes of sorts, you could say they were the highest authority in the district.

But now as he saw the place for the first time in more than a year he couldn't believe how much the place had reverted back to its old self in such a short amount of time. He grit his teeth when he saw that an old shop where he used to go to buy food and cigarettes was reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble and dust. The shopkeeper was a good friend of his too, "Senji, what the _fuck _happened here? I thought we cleaned out most of the shit here." Natsu asked while he kept watching the many buildings they were passing by.

The black haired man sighed tiredly, "Crime was under control when you six were here, huh? The assholes were just too scared of the 'Salamander' and his five demons to even go out into the streets. You can imagine what happened when word of the Six breaking up hit the news, so to speak. The scum flooded the streets. The rats came out of their dens, you know how it goes." Senji frowned," The worst part is that the crime rate peaked. To tell you the truth, it has become worse here than it has ever been in the past ten years." He paused for a moment, "The media ain't even reporting about happenings in the district anymore."

Natsu glanced at Senji with surprise in his eyes, "Are you kidding me? Has the town seriously abandoned Phantom?"

"Pretty much." Senji answered bluntly with a nod of his head, "Ever since I became Chief of Police I've been trying to get the place back to normal again. It ain't easy though. There's much shit walking the streets for us to be able to do this without aid and the other districts don't want to be bothered with this shithole. What's even worse is that the fuckers here have become crafty, we can't find proof to take them in most of the time." He groaned in annoyance while scratching the back of his head, "I'm telling you, they must've been studying their rights or something. It's impossible to intimidate the fucks to spill the beans when they know you can't use violence against them without a reason."

Natsu huffed, "Isn't being pissed off a good enough reason though?"

Senji chuckled, "No. No it isn't. I wish it was though. That would make things so much easier." He noted and the teen nodded in agreement.

The pinkette scratched his temples in thought before he remembered why the hell he was out here in the first place, "So I take it that's part of the reason why I'm here, right?" He asked and Senji nodded in affirmation.

A small smirk plastered itself on Senji's lips, "Sure are." He said as he stopped in an alleyway between two abandoned buildings, "Come on." He said as he got out of the car, Natsu following soon after. The two closed the car's doors before Senji locked the vehicle. The policeman motioned with his hand for the pinkette to follow as he went down the alley. They both walked towards where the alley ended and Senji stopped, making Natsu bump into his back.

"Oi! What the-" He was interrupted when Senji put his hand over Natsu's mouth.

"Quiet." Senji said quietly as he got close to the wall, "See those guys over there?" Senji asked before he removed his hand from Natsu's face and motioned to the street around the corner with his thumb. Natsu glanced over and nodded.

"Drug dealers." The pinkette growled as he saw three men wearing black clothing with bandannas over their mouths as hoodies covered the rest of their heads.

"See, this is where it gets tricky. With Fiore's stupid new laws we can't arrest the fuckers if we don't know for sure that they have something with them. A hunch isn't good enough to warrant an arrest. That's where you come in." The policeman explained, causing Natsu to look up at him with curious eyes, "This is what you'll have to do: Go up to them, pretend you're interested in buying whatever shit they've got, make them show it and, when they do, bust their faces in. Or try to, at least." Senji added and Natsu frowned at the last part. He'd prove to that old fucker that he still had what it took in him to at least beat three stupid junkies.

Senji quirked an eyebrow when Natsu messed up his own hair, unzipped his hoodie, put his hood on partially, took out the shirt tucked in his sweatpants and made the same pants slide slightly downwards so his boxers were barely visible, "What the fuck are you doing?" Senji asked with a sweatdrop.

"I need to look the part, dumbass." Natsu growled, making the black haired man facepalm.

Senji watched as Natsu shoved his hands in his pockets and went around the corner towards where the three black-clad people stood. He rolled his eyes at Natsu's pathetic attempt at mimicking the rapper stereotype. He was, in all honestly, the most horrible actor the policeman had ever seen.

The three glanced at Natsu's direction as he approached them, "Sup bitches! Say brah, can one of ya homies hook me up wit some of dat dope mary jane shit you gots dere?" He asked – more like sang out – before hearing a loud laugh coming from the alley behind him. Natsu sweatdropped as the three simply stared at him dumbly as if he was some sort of idiot who escaped from a psych ward.

Thinking fast, he decided to do what any other man would do in this kind of situation. Only that absolutely _no one _would do what he did.

"Ya be makin' the dope hustlin' when I'm makin' the smoke bustlin'. If ya'll don't have no dope I'll be bustin' down the slope!" Natsu rapped while shaking his arms frantically before hearing another loud laugh coming from the alley behind him as the three people in front of him facepalmed.

Senji held his side with one of his arms while his other hand was covering his mouth. A tear threatened to escape his eye from laughing too much, '_That was so freaking horrible! He's such a fucking retard!' _He kept laughing and could feel his stomach hurting. He should have taken Natsu with him sooner; this was just too priceless!

Natsu coughed nervously when he noticed that this wasn't working. He inhaled deeply before trying again, "I be so badass I've gots the moves to rock ya shoes! I be…"

"Shut up already, Jesus!" One of the three shouted, making the pinkette frown.

'_And I was getting into it too…_' He thought with a sigh.

"What the fuck do you want?" The same person that interrupted Natsu asked.

Natsu looked at him before grinning dumbly, "Aye homie, 'ppreciate ya understandin' mah situation brah. Me needs some _good _shit to get mah ass through the kicker, ya feelin' me brah?" He said while waving his arms around frantically… again.

"No, seriously, shut up before I shove my boot up your ass." Another of the three growled and Natsu's frown deepened.

"C'mon brah! You be no fun brah!" Natsu continued until he felt a small rock smack against the back of his head. He sighed, figuring it was Senji, and thought it was high time to get serious… or partially serious, "See 'ere homie, show me the shizz ya gots and we be doin' some bizz brosephs!" By this point even he realized that he had strayed from his initial 'stereotype imitation' too far.

"HOLY SHIT! I'M DYING HERE!" Natsu heard Senji scream while laughing and had to resist the urge to go bust the guy's face in. The dude be killin' his buzz yo! Oh God…

The three junkies looked at each other briefly before one of them sighed, "Let's just get this over with." He said and turned to Natsu, "How much you got… 'homie?'"

"Dat be dependin' on how much shit ya got brah!" Natsu said with a grin. Okay, even he was starting to find this funny. Though he couldn't even begin to comprehend how these three idiots didn't get suspicious after hearing Senji's laugh multiple times.

One of the three sighed, "Fine. Here, take a look." He said as he took out multiple plastic bags from his pocket. One caught Natsu's interest. A plastic bag with a white powder-ish substance inside. He grinned, '_Cocaine. Bingo._'

Before the three of them even realized what had happened Natsu's fist smashed against one of their faces, effectively sending him staggering back. Another punch landed on the second man's stomach, making him gasp for air. Natsu was turning around, intending to attack the third one when an elbow hit the side of his head. He stepped back groggily while holding his head as he glared holes at the third person.

"Bastard, what the fuck are you doing?!" The man shouted.

Natsu grinned, "Kicking yo ass brah, what else does dis be looking like to ya brah?" Natsu laughed as he lunged again, intent on smashing the junkie's head against the hard concrete ground. He shoved his fist forward but was surprised to notice that he wasn't fast enough and the junkie managed to dodge. A _junkie _dodged his punch.

The side of the pinkette's head was smashed again by the man's fist and Natsu growled as he turned his glare to him. He stepped forward quickly and launched a punch at the guy's face, making him fly through the air a few feet.

Natsu was taken aback again when one of the two he punched earlier caught him from behind in a headlock. He growled as another one of the three stood in front of him and punched him in the face multiple times. He gritted his teeth in annoyance as he hit the man holding him in the chest with his elbow. Using that as an opening, the pinkette lifted both of his feet up before kicking the other in the face, all the while making the one holding him fall to the ground with Natsu landing on top of him. The teen smashed his elbow against the man lying under him before his grip loosened.

The pinkette quickly stood up and lunged at the second man. He jumped in the air and sent a kick towards one of the hooded men's faces, making him fly a few feet to the side. He looked to his right but was too late to block a kick that smashed against his pelvis. Natsu gasped and staggered back before glaring back at the man who was running towards him. He would kick the shit out of this fucker.

He was about to intercept him but was stopped by the grounded junkie grabbing his leg. Natsu momentarily lost focus when he turned to look at whoever the hell stopped him and a knee smashed against his face, sending the pinkette staggering back.

The pinkette tried standing up but gasped as a knee connected to his chest and he felt the heavy weight of the junkie on him. He felt something metallic and sharp press against his neck and glared holes at the man on top of him, "You're going to pay, asshole." The man said and Natsu snarled as the junkie's knife brushed against his neck.

"Alright, that's enough." They heard a voice behind them and the man on top of Natsu froze as something was pushed against his head and a clicking sound was heard. Natsu moved his head to look behind the junkie and saw Senji's grinning face as he aimed a gun at the junkie's head with the safety off, "You'd best give up, back-up's on the way, brah." Senji chuckled and, as if on cue, the sound of police sirens blaring reverberated through the many abandoned buildings around them. Natsu sighed in relief; his ass was saved once again.

* * *

Gajeel exhaled smoke from his mouth where a cigarette was in between his teeth while walking down a path that lead to a park near his school, hands shoved in his pockets with him hunched over slightly. He walked down the same path for a few minutes until he reached a small clearing with a fountain, barren of water, in the middle of it. On a bench near the fountain sat a pale man with straight black hair which was slicked backwards and gathered in a bun at the back of his head. The man stood up and revealed that he was fairly tall, almost taller than Gajeel. He wore the same black jacket Gajeel wore without anything underneath it, black sweatpants and simple black sneakers. His red eyes watched the approaching Gajeel before a smirk covered his features, "Yo, Gajeel." He greeted with a wave of his hand.

"What do you want now, Bacchus?" Gajeel asked and the man, now known as Bacchus, grinned.

"You know what I want, blacky. You gonna ally with 3-A or do I have to make you?" He asked with a glint of excitement in his voice.

"Fuck you." Gajeel growled at the nickname, making the other black haired man chuckle, "Why the hell are you in with those fuckers anyway? It's not like you."

Bacchus sighed, "It's not like I listen to whatever they say. They give me stuff to fight and that's enough for me to follow them." He said as he took a flask from his jacket's inner pocket. He opened it and put it against his mouth, drinking half of the content inside in one go, "That's what happens when you're head of a class here, Gajeel. You have to ally under the ones who are taking the top. Black and Yellow doesn't seem like such a bad idea, does it?" Bacchus asked with a hiccup.

Gajeel frowned at the revelation, "I expected more out of you, Bacchus." He said, "Those fuckers can go to hell for all I care."

Bacchus sighed again, "So I guess this is what it comes down to, eh?" He said before grinning, "Just remember, rules don't exist in wars." He said and Gajeel's eyes widened when about thirty people came running to him from around the corner.

The black-haired man let out a sharp 'tsk' before dropping his cigarette to the ground and grinning, "Seems like you brought me a party, Bacchus!" He shouted and ran towards the incoming mass of black-clad men, instantly knocking one out with a punch to his face, causing the guy to roll over mid-air before he hit the concrete ground with the back of his head. Gajeel kept running through them and jumped before sending a knee into another's face.

He shook slightly when an elbow met the side of his head but reacted quickly by backhanding the same person who attacked him. He grabbed a fist that was aimed at his chest and twisted the person's wrist before pulling him towards him. Gajeel kneed the man in the face and continued to fight the amassing people. He got hit numerous amounts of times but didn't fail to knock about ten of them out.

Eventually, Gajeel had reached his limit. Add to the fact that even Bacchus added numerous bruises to his injury list which made him step back a few meters to get a breather.

"Give up Gajeel, you can't do shit against this many." Bacchus said as he watched a panting Gajeel wipe away some blood dripping from his lip.

Gajeel frowned; Bacchus was right. There wasn't anything he could do against thirty or so people.

"He can if he's not alone." A voice boomed from behind them.

Bacchus turned around and his eyes widened while his jaw twitched, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"You wish." Cobra said as he approached the scene, his head held high as he looked down on Bacchus with a grin plastered on his face. Behind him marched about sixty men dressed in similar black outfits and the same jackets, "Sup Gajeel? You okay there? I got your guys to help out."

Gajeel sighed in relief. Leave it to that jackass to save him when he's in a pinch.

Cobra's grin widened, "Let's kick their asses, shall we?" He asked aloud and was met with the cries of those behind him as they all ran towards Bacchus and his men and a fight erupted. Cobra calmly walked towards Bacchus's direction while Gajeel did the same, "There are no rules in war, right?" Cobra said with a grin and Gajeel matched his expression. They both stopped when they were about five meters apart from Bacchus's back and front, all three of them standing in the middle of the fighting crowd.

The surrounded black haired man sighed, already realizing that he had been outplayed. He stretched his arms before a few areas in his back popped, "Well whatever. This is going to be fun." Bacchus said, "My soul is quivering with excitement!" He said before Cobra and Gajeel both nodded with grins on their faces and charged.

* * *

Natsu hissed as the paramedics that were checking his wounds pressed something against his swollen cheek, upsetting the skin and sending multiple sharp jolts of pain through his body. He nodded his thanks to the medics before noticing Senji standing near him.

Natsu hung his head and sighed tiredly, "How are you feeling?" Senji asked.

"Like shit." Natsu replied bluntly.

The policeman chuckled humorlessly, "That only proves my point from before. The fact that those three pieces of shit managed to kick your ass is pitiful." He added and Natsu gritted his teeth in frustration. He was right. The fucker was right and Natsu knew it; he just couldn't admit it. He had become rusty. It has been more than a year and a half since the last time Natsu was fighting anyone seriously enough, how the hell was he supposed to fight anyone? "You can't fight the Six with the state you're in now. And you're thinking about protecting someone? Who are you trying to fool? Yourself?"

Natsu clenched his teeth after he heard the last thing Senji said. He remembered who he did this for and why he had to do what he did. His head quickly shot up and his eyes glared at the black haired policeman, "Then what the fuck am I supposed to do, huh?!" Natsu shouted, making the present medics and policemen glance at him in surprise.

Senji's eyes met Natsu's onyx orbs and he couldn't help but be reminded of himself when he was younger. The dedication to follow through something that would help another while it may hurt you in the process. It was something to be admired, but something incredibly rash as well. He sighed; there was no way Senji could leave the pinkette in the way he was now. He might get himself killed, "Alright, fine!" He exclaimed, "You said that they're planning a main event, right? I take it it's going to be the third year's prom which is in about a month. I'll train you so you should be able to fight properly again by then." He said with a sigh, already knowing that he would be regretting this in the long run," Just remember, I can't do everything for you." The black haired man added.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"You can't take on the Six alone, that's what I mean."

"I can take three of them on my own! If Erza wasn't there I would've smashed both Mid's and Zan's heads into tomorrow!" Natsu retorted, making the policeman frown. Was Natsu always this dense or was this the consequence of getting his head smashed against hard surfaces multiple times?

"That's not what I meant." He said simply.

"Then what the hell did you mean?!" Natsu shouted through gritting teeth.

Senji sighed, "You'll find out soon enough."

* * *

_Well that was fun._

_Song used: **Celldweller -**_**Eon**

_By the way, I hope I didn't insult anyone when Natsu mimicked that certain stereotype. No racism or whatever the fuck else intended._


	21. A Resolute Memory

_**A/N**_: _Well, fuck. It's 6.30AM and am tired as all hell. I need some sleep. Anyway, gimme your thoughts on this chapter in the reviews, mmkays? Oh, and the next chapter will showcase... I won't say what. I'll only say that it's looooooong overdue._

* * *

_Major thanks to **Roxas.97** for betaing this!_

* * *

_**Fairy Tail High**_

* * *

_**Chapter twenty-one: A Resolute Memory**_

* * *

A short and elderly man sat on a chair next to a desk in an office. His old features stared sadly at a picture frame in his hands. It seemed as if a permanent scowl was etched on his face as he stared at the picture in which over twenty people were present, but his gaze was fixated on two in particular.

Makarov sighed, "Your son has been missing for over a month and you are still nowhere to be seen. Where are you, Igneel?" He asked himself tiredly, thinking how much of a bother the kids he raised were. The two people he was focusing on were a man and a woman. The man was a tall, muscular figure with short and spiky red hair styled backwards with two strands of hair near the opposite sides of his head falling over his face, as well as distinct sideburns. He wore the black jacket uniform of Fairy Tail High, its sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal multiple bruises running along his arm and a small bandage was on his left cheek, covering a bruise he had. His amber eyes were staring at the woman next to him in annoyance. She was of average height and sported an amused expression with her hands on her sides as she seemed to be suppressing a laugh. She had long blonde hair that went to her backside with multiple strands covering a portion of the left side of her face and onyx-black eyes.

The old man groaned loudly and placed the picture frame back on his desk, "Why must I deal with a mixture between the two of you? You and June were a handful, but Natsu… that boy's going to give me a heart attack someday, I just know it!" He complained before sighing to calm himself down. His gaze unwillingly stopped on the many documents sent by the student council regarding the prom that was a few days away. He frowned slightly when he skimmed through them and noticed Erza's handwriting on each and every paper.

Makarov knew for a fact that Natsu and the president were close and, knowing the pinkette, the old man had a hunch he didn't inform the redhead where the hell he went. His frown deepened when he thought how the redhead must be feeling and he couldn't believe she still continued with her council work. Responsibility was like air to her.

Suddenly his office's door opened and a tall orange haired man entered. Makarov glanced at him curiously before nodding at his direction, "There's news, old man." The younger man announced and Makarov's brow twitched slightly at the name calling, making Gildarts smirk slightly.

"What is it? And don't call me old." The older man growled.

Gildarts chuckled before coughing into his fist, "One of the teachers saw Natsu exiting the police station a few hours ago." He informed and Makarov quirked an eyebrow.

"The police station?" He asked and Gildarts nodded, making the short man sigh, "What has the boy gotten himself into this time?" He asked more to himself than anyone and Gildarts only shrugged as a reply. The old man scowled, "I swear, that kid's going to be the death of me. Just wait till he comes here and I'll give him a piece of my mind!" He growled and the orange haired man only rolled his eyes and exited the room, figuring it better to keep his sanity than to listen to the principal's ranting.

* * *

Gray walked through the school's corridors, an annoyed and tired expression etched on his features. He cursed Natsu for having to put up with this because of him as Erza was seen walking behind him, staring at the brunette's back with narrow eyes.

Gray was thoroughly annoyed. The pinkette decided to up and disappear for about a month without saying anything to anyone and now he has to deal with Erza constantly pestering about it, saying that he probably knew where Natsu was, "Gray, please."

The brunette sighed, "Look, I've already told you a million times, I have no idea where that idiot is. Would you stop?" He replied and continued on his way until a hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully pulled him back, making him turn around to lock his eyes with Erza's brown orbs.

"You two are best friends. I can't believe he didn't tell you where he went!" She said and Gray 'tsked' sharply as a response.

"For God's sake, I don't! And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You should learn to respect other people's privacy." He said and shook her hand away while walking out of the school. It's been a long time since the brunette had been pissed off like this. And he wasn't even angry at Erza. He was angry at Natsu. The redhead had every right to know where Natsu was but that pink haired idiot had asked Gray not to tell her.

He shook his head furiously, feeling guilt wash over him. He did know where Natsu was but he chose to not tell Erza simply because the guy asked him to. He didn't know why he sided with Natsu, but he did. Even if he was training, Erza had every right to talk to him so Natsu could make things clear. The way it was now wasn't doing any good for anybody! Though, you'd have to wonder, even if Natsu told her the truth would things really get better?

He groaned over dramatically while walking down the street from the school to his home. He wished he punched Natsu straight in the face when they met right before the pinkette disappeared. One night, about three weeks ago, Natsu called Gray and asked him to meet in the park. The brunette agreed but found it weird that Natsu decided to meet at the park in the middle of the night. Later he found out that Natsu was training and didn't have any time to see him besides evening, which actually made Gray seem disappointed.

In their little meeting, Natsu had explained that he was training with Senji to get back up to speed to be able to handle Zee and the others and to get ready for the 'main event' which they thought was going to be the seniors' prom. Gray, being the friend that he is, agreed to cover for him, although it was after a buttload of begging from Natsu's side.

During his free time, Gray had started to train himself as well. He wasn't stupid; he knew that where Natsu went trouble was bound to follow and was sure to include him in the event. Hell, he would probably join himself if Natsu needed help. He realized that his situation was much like Natsu's. Like Erza, Juvia was also in danger to get caught up in the turmoil if shit hit the fan. That wasn't an option. They both agreed that they needed to be ready for whatever Zee has cooked up and decided to give it their best to get back at that asshole for all the bullshit he pulled.

* * *

A smashing sound was heard when Natsu fell on the police HQ's underground training area's wooden table and the supports gave out, causing the wooden surface to crumble to the ground. He groaned in annoyance and pain as he struggled to get up.

The place was a mess. Trash scattered everywhere, lockers bent, sandbags were destroyed and the ground was covered in sand, the rubber ropes holding the ring together were ripped apart and the ring itself looked more like someone had tried to build something using Nitroglycerin coated nails. All in all it was a miserable sight and it looked as if a tornado had stormed through the training room. And it technically had.

The storm known as Natsu's daily training routine – fighting Senji. The two had been at it since early morning, when the sun hadn't risen yet, eight hours elapsed with them doing nothing but fighting. It wasn't a surprise, they were repeating this every day, for an entire month. A couple of days in the week were spared solely for body training, such as exercising or brushing up on his technique.

Natsu breathed in and out heavily, panting furiously at the immense training he was taking part of. He had to admit, Senji was strong as hell. Constantly fighting him was harder than anything he had ever done before. The pinkette was barely standing on his two shaking feet, the appendages bent slightly and Natsu's back was hunched forward, his hands on his knees for support. He coughed slightly as he felt his chest hurt but paid it no mind, figuring he had felt worse before. Blood flowed from his elbows and forearms; his knuckles were bruised to the point where the bone was practically visible. The pinkette's face was damaged as well, with a few scratches on his cheeks and a cut lip. He was glad Senji was nice enough to not hit him so he got a black eye. He grinned, thinking that the same couldn't be said the other way around.

Senji was in a similar condition; although, his was milder. He was standing straight and panting slightly. His shirt was thrown away somewhere and drops of dried blood were visible on his chest. His pants were stained with blood, as well as ripped near the feet. The policeman's knuckles were, in no shape or form, in a better condition than Natsu's; being bloody to the point where the whites of his bones were visible. His face had multiple cuts on it as well, being accompanied by two bruises under his eyes, courtesy of Natsu hitting him straight on the nose.

He watched the pinkette stand up slowly and sighed, thinking that eight hours must be his limit but staying proud of what the pinkette's abilities were. Even eight hours was something amazing, "Come on Natsu, let's call it quits." He said and turned around to go to the shower.

"W-wait…" Senji stopped when he heard Natsu's ragged breath. He turned around and met the pinkette's onyx eyes, the confident glint them made the black haired man smirk slightly, "T-This is the l-last time…" He coughed again, "Right? I h-have to… beat you!" Natsu shouted out and glared daggers at the policeman while straightening his posture slightly.

The policeman grinned and got into a defensive stance, getting ready to retaliate to whatever Natsu had in mind as he watched the pink haired teen get into his fighting pose. He knelt down and hunched his back even more while placing his hands a slightly forward, mimicking a marathon runner's pose just before starting to run. Senji quirked an eyebrow at this change and was taken aback and caught off guard when Natsu lunged at him from his position with speed he hadn't seen before. The pinkette closed the distance between the two in almost two seconds and jumped in the air, his right leg cocked back as Natsu seemed to hiss while getting ready to strike. The policeman lifted up his arm and was barely able to block an enhanced kick sent his way. The force of the hit alone was enough to send Senji flying almost ten feet back before his head smashed against one of the many already damaged lockers adorning the room, bending it to the point where the locker's door flew off its hinges.

The policeman landed painfully and groaned at the kick sent. He was taken aback by what Natsu just did. He glanced at the pinkette and saw him staring at the lying for of the black haired man with a mix of surprise and happiness. He jumped up in the air and started shouting in euphoria, "Holy shit! I beat him! I beat Senji! Wooooo!"

The policeman rolled his eyes at the pinkette's antics before slowly standing up, hissing slightly when the arm used to block the pinkette's kick touched the locker behind him only slightly, "Y-Yeah yeah… whatever." He said when he was finally standing on his own two feet again. He stared blankly at Natsu who was hissing and massaging his right leg's thigh, "Who the hell can do an enhanced hit with their legs but can't do one with their arms? You're effing weird." He said, making Natsu snarl in his direction.

"Fuck you, old man!" The pinkette growled.

"Shut up, jizznugget!" Senji retorted.

"Go to hell, nipplebandit!"

"Suck it, dicknose!"

"Bite me, nutpirate!"

And the insults continued for a few more minutes before both of them got tired from the constant shouting. Senji glared at the pinkette before speaking, "Kid, remember, never use this attack against an unprepared enemy. If it wasn't me against you… you would've killed." Natsu's eyes widened at the revelation, making the policeman smile and nod in his direction, "Good, you understand. Be careful with it, Natsu. Not only does this attack damage you, it might potentially kill the target. Remember that I didn't teach you it so you can squander it every turn you get. It's a last resort, got it?" He asked and Natsu took a few moments to take all the information in before nodding, "Good, now pack your things and get the hell out of here. Prom's in a few days and you need to rest." The black haired man added, waving the pinkette off with his arm.

Natsu stood around for a moment, slightly scratching his cheek as if thinking what to do. Senji quirked an eyebrow at this and was about to ask but Natsu didn't allow him to. The pinkette bowed, something that surprised Senji immensely, and started to speak, "Senji, thanks for everything this past month. I know it cost you a lot to keep me here and I know I can never repay you, but I am honestly grateful for what you've done." He said, making Senji's eyes widen. Did this really just happen? Did Natsu just apologize? He found it hard to believe, but figured that Natsu still had a speck of a brain under that thick skull of his.

The black haired man walked up to his him and patted the pinkette on the head, "Don't mention it kid. Now go and rest up so you can kick Zee's ass, alright?" He asked with a genuine smile and the teen stood back up normally and stared at Senji for a second.

He nodded, "Alright!" He shouted to himself while pumping a fist to the air before running off towards the changing room, "Thanks again, Senji!" He added as he ran out.

Senji stared to where Natsu went and listened to his footsteps. When he couldn't hear them anymore, the black haired man hissed loudly as he grabbed the arm he used to block Natsu's kick. He inspected the sore area and his eyes slightly widened when he felt a bone was out of place, "Shit, the kid broke my arm." He thought grimly with a frown, "That attack's more dangerous than I thought. Not only does it do more damage than my strongest punch it might as well be faster than it combined with Natsu's movement. I hope he realizes how dangerous it is for himself." He spoke to himself while rubbing his arm, "Now…" He looked around the wrecked training area, "WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO PAY FOR ALL THIS?!" He shouted in desperation.

* * *

Natsu walked through the streets of Magnolia, making his way home at his own pace, glancing through the many shops that had surprisingly changed, even if slightly, during the month that he was training inside the police station. He saw people bustling around the main street, many of them in couples, doing whatever. He sighed, remembering the surprise date his friends had organized for him.

He honestly wished he could turn back time to those days that weren't even that long ago. The days when he could be happy, without a care in the world. The days when he thought that his past and the events that happened to him in his younger days were non-existent. He chuckled; thinking like that made him feel old, which he definitely wasn't.

He huffed when he realized that he had practically been invisible for a whole month. Without telling anyone, besides Gray, where he went to as well! But could you blame him? Surely people went looking for him and if he actually told everyone where he was and what he was doing they were sure to come looking for him to tell him to stop, even more so that his arm was literally fucked up at the time. He stretched; strangely enough, his arm was completely healed, although he made a mental note to do whatever he could to keep it healthy. He swore to God if someone tried messing with it he'd kick the person in the balls if he had to.

He lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth while his hands went to his pockets. He hunched his back forward slightly and continued to his home as he exhaled a puff of smoke. He exited the city center's main street and went along the bridge that lead to his home, all the while trying to think of how to repay Gray for taking care of Happy the past month that he was gone. He started wondering how the little guy was holding up. Ever since Natsu got him he couldn't really spend time with the blue feline. That got him down somewhat. He wasn't able to entertain that train of thought any further as he was brought back to reality due to laughter that came from an alleyway just as the bridge ended.

Curiosity got the better of him and Natsu went to check. What he saw slightly irked him. Five men wearing black clothes were standing near the end of the alley, encircling a black haired woman who seemed to be considerably calmer than a woman should be in her situation. She glared holes at the five and Natsu tsked sharply as he dropped his bag on the floor. No way in fucking hell was he going to let this slide.

One of the five men chuckled and started talking, quiet enough so the pinkette walking towards them didn't hear them, "Come on, Kagura. Are you really going to turn down Black and Yellow's generous offer?" He mused, one of his hands moving to brush a stray strand of hair from the woman's, now known as Kagura, hair. The hand, unsurprisingly, was slapped away the moment it was close to her skin.

She huffed loudly, "I would like it if you left school business to school. If you want to die then die during school hours, not after." She said sternly, causing the men to glare at her.

"Tch, stupid woman." The previously mentioned guy spat as he was raising his fist.

"Oi!" A shout from behind them called the men to attention as they turned back and noticed a pink haired teenager glaring holes at them as he walked forward, "Attacking a woman in broad daylight? Man you punks sure are getting brave." Natsu said with a small grin spread across his face.

Kagura watched as the mysterious pink haired guy walked towards the five that were supposedly 'attacking' her. She smirked in amusement; some random guy thinking that he could become the hero by saving the girl. Typical. There was no way he could beat someone from Grimoire High, let alone five of them.

One of the five stepped forward as Natsu stopped in his tracks, "Mind your own business and piss the hell off, pinky." He said, chuckling slightly. What an arrogant prick.

Natsu's eyebrow twitched slightly. Pinky?_...__Pinky_? Motherfucker, you don't call Natsu pinky. Only Gray can call him that and even then the brunette would get his ass kicked. His glare intensified as he raised a hand towards the five, motioning for them to come, "Come at me, asshole." He said. Right before training with Senji, Natsu fought against three guys and got beat. Now he was going to fight against five and they didn't seem like they were junkies. Perfect. He could check how much he has improved.

The one Natsu motioned to shrugged as he rotated his head so the muscles would stretch, "Your funeral." He said and ran towards the pinkette, his fist cocked back to deliver a decisive right hook.

Natsu watched as the goon ran at him with a bored expression, "A hook right off the bat, really?" He said sluggishly before instantly ducking as the fist went by him. The attacker was slightly taken aback and wasn't able to block an uppercut coming to his jaw. He was instantly sent flying back and landed on his back a few feet away. Both Natsu's eyes and grin widened as he spread his arms and motioned for them to come at him, "Come on, bring it!"

Kagura's eyes widened at what she saw. That speed, it wasn't normal. He could've ducked and stood up three times and that punch still wouldn't have reached him. And those eyes he possessed; the eyes that almost screamed that he was strong. Only a select few in Grimoire High had those kinds of eyes, and they were all part of the strongest tier.

"You bastard…!" The one that received the uppercut growled and, with the help of the others, slowly stood up as he rubbed his chin and glared at the pinkette, "You're dead." He said and all five of them rushed at the teen at the same time.

"Scary." Natsu mocked while he jumped around, his hands raised as he readied himself for the oncoming assault. One of the five tried punching with a straight to Natsu's face but he simply moved his head and the hit went past him. The teen grabbed the offending man's appendage and gripped it tightly, making the man wince at his strength. Natsu laughed condescendingly as he swung him by his arm as if it was a simple yoyo and made his body smash against the side of a dumpster, instantly knocking him out.

Another tried kicking Natsu in the stomach but his attack was dodged as well. He caught the leg with his arm and held it tightly, not allowing the man to get free. He elbowed his knee, smirking as he heard a cracking sound and his victim's howl of pain. He let his leg go and as the black-clad guy was falling to the ground Natsu kicked at his face, sending him barreling to a wall to their side. You got no mercy if you called him pinky.

The last three guys came at the pinkette at the same time. One of them swung down and Natsu skipped to the side, ducking when the other's punch was heading his way. He felt danger from behind him and instantly swung back with a kick and pushed away a punch aimed to the back of his head, "I'm saving you for last." Natsu said as he kicked the very first guy to insult him in the chest, causing him to kneel down as the air was literally knocked out of him.

The pink haired teen turned back to the two from before and grinned as he jumped up and kicked one of them in the face, letting him smash against a wall to their sides. He quickly turned to the other and gave a straight punch to his face, not even giving him the time of day to counterattack. Seeing as the guy stepped back a few feet, Natsu started to run and jumped towards a dumpster, used it as a stepping stone and, using the momentum while in the air, knee'd the guy in his cheek, effectively knocking him out as well.

The pinkette turned around and saw the kneeling guy slowly stand up. He motioned with his hands to come at him and the black-clad man did so, punching multiple times at the pink haired teen. Natsu simply chuckled as he dodged each blow sent, skidding to the sides, jumping up to avoid kicks and sometimes blocking with his forehands. Eventually getting bored, he caught the guy's fist and gripped it tightly, making the man wince in pain at his strength. Natsu grinned as he continued to strengthen his grip, the guy falling to his knees as he held his wrist. Surely enough, a cracking sound came from his fingers and Natsu let the hand go, finding it boring that the extremities broke so easily. He knee'd the kneeling man in the face, causing him to fall down and smash against the ground with the back of his head rather painfully.

Natsu walked up to his lying form and stood on his chest, causing the man to gasp at his weight and the lack of breath it caused. Natsu crouched down and grinned at him, grabbing both of his arms with one of his hands so he doesn't get hit. He slapped the lying man a few times before glaring at him, "_Never _call me pinky. And I would appreciate it if you stopped assaulting girls." He said as he grabbed his forehead and smashed his head against the asphalt, "Are we clear?"

"Y-Yes!" The man under Natsu screamed, causing the pinkette's grin to widen before he smashed his head against the ground again, causing the man to lose consciousness.

He stood up and glanced at the black haired woman's brown eyes, nodding to her, "Are you alright?"

Kagura simply stood there, still a little too shocked to notice him. She had just witnessed some random guy kick the shit out of five guys from Grimoire High, without any real effort too! It was blatantly obvious he was playing with them and that intrigued her. She was snapped from her daze when the pinkette waved his hand in front of her face, "Uhh… sorry, what?" The black haired woman asked awkwardly.

Natsu sighed before staring at her dumbly, "I'm asking if you're alright. They didn't do anything to you, did they?"

Kagura gazed sternly at the pinkette, "No, they didn't. I was perfectly capable of taking care of them myself." She said, making the pinkette scowl at her.

"Whatever you say lady." He said tiredly before turning around and walking to his bag, "That's what I get for my heroic actions. Not even a damned thank you!" He complained before grabbing his bag and walking 'round the corner.

The black haired woman watched his retreating figure with interest. Pink hair, extreme strength and fast movement. She could have sworn she heard about the same traits being held by someone, but she couldn't remember who. She glanced down and saw one of the guys from before was still quite conscious. She let out a sharp tsk before slamming her heel on his forehead, causing his face to smash against the ground violently.

The girl glanced at where the pinkette had gone and sighed before making her way out of the alley. She was still interested in the identity of the guy and she would ask around back in school, even if it meant smashing a few skulls in the process.

* * *

After the scuffle in the alley, Natsu was already near his home, his bag thrown over his shoulder as he lazily lifted his hand to remove the cigarette from his mouth and exhale. He threw the cigarette away and stomped on it when he noticed that he was near his house.

What he saw near his front door… let's just say it wasn't something that he was expecting. Sure, he wanted to see her, he really did, but he couldn't allow himself to. Suddenly, the person that he saw embraced him lovingly and all he could see was a mop of red hair.

"I had a feeling you would be back today…" Erza said as she tightened her grip on him, "Where were you?" She whispered in his ear.

Natsu shivered at the contact and at her words. His hands slowly started lifting to return her hug, shaking slightly as he was trying his best to stop, yet was finding it hard to. The things he said and did kept him from it. He had insulted her, probably broke her heart as well and disappeared for an entire month without telling her why or where. Knowing her, she was probably worrying sick about him. He had believed that he had cut all ties with her, but nothing was that easy, was it?

Biting his lip, Natsu gathers as much inner strength as he possibly could and pushed her away, "No, Erza. Stop. I already told you I don't want anything to do with you. I'm sorry, but you're just…" He was cut off when he saw her shake her head with a smile on her face.

"You're lying, Natsu. I know you are." Erza said quietly, the sincerely loving smile still present on her features as her brown eyes looked slightly down. She rested her forehead on his chest, "I knew the way you acted was strange and I know you're not the kind of person to say the things you did, Natsu. Just please… stop already. I know the truth, there's no use hiding it…" She pleaded with him, making him snarl slightly at her.

"You know the truth, eh? That's all the more reason for you to stop seeing me!" He shouted, finally reaching the end of his patience, "Why the hell would you still keep wanting to get in danger because of someone like me, huh?!"

Erza's reply was almost instantaneous, "Because I love you." She said truthfully, making his eyes go wide at the confession, "I know we haven't been together for long, but the time we spent as friends has shown me who you really are. You're strong, kind, compassionate, loving… You'd never leave your friends in a pinch. You're you, Natsu. I don't care what happens if we're together, all I know is that I want to stay with you." Natsu's eyes went wider than they have ever been before. He was, quite literally, shocked. He didn't know what to tell her. His defenses were down, he was vulnerable. It took every ounce of self-restraint he had left in him just to keep his hands from returning her embrace, "I can take care of myself, Natsu." She said and his hands were already moving to touch her.

'_I love you too, Natsu. And no, I'm not going anywhere. I can take care of myself just fine!_'

"She said the exact same thing." Whatever the pinkette was feeling before, it was all washed away when those certain memories flooded his mind. His hair covered his eyes as he grabbed Erza's shoulders and pushed her away; surprising the redhead with the force he applied. He looked away, refusing to see her eyes, as he took his bag and made for the door to his house, "She said the exact same thing! And now look at her!" He screamed while walking, finding it hard to contain his emotions any longer. His body shook violently as he grabbed the doorknob, almost breaking it in the process, "Look what happened to her! She's dead, Erza! DEAD!" He screamed, taking the woman completely aback.

"What…? Who…?" She asked, her voice slightly shaking from seeing the pinkette in that state.

"It's none of your business." He concluded angrily as he opened the door. He glanced at her with angry and regretful eyes one more time as he spoke his last words, "I appreciate your feelings, Erza, but I can't accept them. I don't want to have anything to do with you." The pinkette said before entering his house, slamming the door shut in her face.

Erza could feel her eyes tearing up as she kept staring wide eyed at Natsu's door. She couldn't believe what he just said. Never mind him sending her off, he mentioned that someone died. That someone said the exact same words that she did and died. By the way he reacted it must have been someone really close to him. Why didn't he ever talk about this? She put both of her hands on her mouth as she could feel her legs trembling while tears freely ran down her cheeks, _'God, Natsu... What happened in your past?_'

Natsu entered his house and locked the door. He threw his backpack away and started marching around his living room, ignoring Happy who was meowing happily, overjoyed that Natsu had finally come back home. Natsu kept marching around; he bit his hand while a stray tear ran down his cheek. He grabbed some of his hair and pulled on it, trying to get rid of the memory that was killing him.

"DAMN IT!" He screamed as he chucked a fist as hard as he could into a wall. His fist went straight through the cardboard surface while he fell down on his knees. "Damn it! Damn it Damn it…!" He kept screaming as he punched numerous holes in the same wall. "Why'd you have to come here just now? Damn it, why?!" He screamed again as his fist collided with the hard floor, almost recoiling from the hardness and immense pain his fist felt. He could've sworn he'd just broken his knuckle, but he didn't care. Finally, after a few seconds of silent sobbing, he noticed how scared Happy was.

He picked the cat up and petted him, "Sorry for scaring you like that little buddy…" He said silently as he scratched one of Happy's ears, "I shouldn't punish myself for something like this, should I…? No, I should move on, get stronger and face the problem head on." He muttered, his eyes suddenly brimming with confidence, "I will put an end to Zee and whoever the hell else. I'll put my damned neck on the line if it meant keeping my friends safe."

"Come hell or high water, I swear, no one's going to get hurt because of me."


	22. Preparation

_**A/N:** Three__ months. Three friggin' months. That's how long it took to write this stuff. You know, I've realized a few things and I've come to a conclusion. I'm going to finish this story in around a month. Yup, you read me right. I won't change anything to the original plot that I've come up with, I'll just write faster. Seriously, this story is a month and a half away from becoming a year old. I mean, really? A year old? So yeah, anyway, you will see this thing being updated a lot more frequently. I estimate that around ten chapters are left._

_Oh, and revealing something that's long overdue? I totally lied. I'll showcase it in the next chapter, honest. I think I owe you guys a hint for the lie, don't I? It will showcase a certain someone's past. Yeah, I think I was too obvious with that... Ha._

_And no, Zee is not Ultear. It is actually quite obvious who he is. What, were you expecting someone special? Nope. Derp._

* * *

_**Fairy Tail High**_

* * *

_**Chapter twenty-two: Preparation**_

* * *

Makarov sat in his office, quietly observing the many documents set out on his desk, most of which were left of the student council president. There were reports of student behavior, their attendance and other relevant things, but at that moment the old man really couldn't give a damn. He knew he should care, but one certain student in particular was messing with him too much. Not messing with him in a literal sense, but messing with him by disappearing over and over again.

The old man sighed tiredly before leaning back on his chair, thinking that he would kill Natsu the next time he saw him. Suddenly, the door to his office opened, causing him to glance in its direction. Makarov's eyes literally opened wide when he saw who had entered; the person of his dismay.

"Yo." Natsu greeted with a wave of his hand as he entered and closed the door behind him. He walked forward and pulled up a seat before plopping down lazily and leaning back in the chair. He looked around a few times before focusing on the grey haired man and his shock filled gaze. The pinkette quirked an eyebrow, not really sure as to what caused this expression to be present on the principal's face, "What? Did someone die or something?"

Now that was a grim thought; close to reality though.

"Yo?" Makarov practically growled out, shaking furiously as he grasped the handles of his chair and grit his teeth, "That's what you say to me after you've been gone for God knows how long?!" He shouted, causing the pink haired teen to roll his eyes at the sudden outburst.

"Calm down, Jesus. Stuff went down that I had to take care of." Natsu said plainly, ignoring the old man's little outburst.

"Stuff to take care of? What kind of 'stuff' can be more important than school, Natsu? Or did you forget that you promised to attend classes if we didn't expel you?" Makarov shouted again as he smashed his palm against the table, his head almost fuming in rage.

The pink haired teen sighed tiredly; he couldn't say that he didn't expect this, but he damn well thought this was annoying, "I know. I'm sorry. Stuff just got hard to the point where I needed out, alright?" He explained, preferring to keep the more detailed version of the story out for this time. He met the glaring eyes of the principal and held his gaze, "Old man, I have a question; is there any security planned for the prom tonight?"

The older man blinked at the question dumbly, "N-no… why would there be a need for security? It's just a prom… and don't change the subject!"

Natsu nodded to himself and stood up, feeling like he heard what he wanted to, "Because of monsters bumping in the night. Y'know, speaking of monsters, that Porlyusica granny is after my ass so I don't really think you want me around the school, do you?" Natsu said, trying his best to hide the grin threatening to morph his lips when he noticed how pale the older man had become after hearing the head nurse's name, "Yeah, I thought so. Anyway, see you around gramps." The pinkette said as he waved his arms and quickly left the office, not allowing Makarov time to usher a single word.

'_Sorry gramps, there's just stuff I have to deal with right now. I know I'm putting you in a bad position here, but there really isn't anything I can do about it._' Natsu thought solemnly with a frown as he made his way through the school's corridor. He clenched his fists tightly, promising himself that he would surely end this whole matter in one fell swoop.

* * *

A black haired policeman yawned tiredly as he walked towards a convenience store he could easily call his home. He inhaled deeply from the cigarette he held in between his fingers before throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. He let the toxins linger in his lungs for a few moments before breathing them out in one gust of air.

He approached the entrance of the store and pushed the doors open. Upon entrance, he instantly felt narrow red eyes focusing on him and couldn't help but smile at his little foster brother's angry but expected demeanor, "What's up?" Senji asked simply as he walked towards the cashier counter and leaned on it, staring at Gajeel's eyes as a smile crept its way up to his face.

"What's up? That's what you say when you've been invisible for the past month or so? You jackass, I had to take care of this store by myself all this time!" The black haired teen shouted in annoyance, erecting a light chuckle out of the older brunette.

"Sorry, sorry! I just had to help our little pink haired faggot for a friend Natsu with a certain ordeal." The black haired policeman explained, blatantly ignoring the fact that that was not something the chief of police should say.

This erected a loud laugh from Gajeel, "How is that bastard anyway? His arm or whatever the hell else is fixed?" He asked and Senji nodded in affirmation.

"Oh, that's right. I wanted to ask you something too. How're things at Grimoire?" He straight out questioned causing Gajeel to blink a few times before his expression changed to an apathetic one, giving Senji the answer without his younger brother having to speak a single word, "That bad?"

"It's fucked up and boring as usual. Though, there has been a change in the current heads' behavior." Gajeel admitted, causing the policeman to nod at his words.

"I think Natsu's the cause of that."

"How so?"

"You see, Natsu and I have been training for this past month but I don't think he's still ready to face the six. The reason is obvious, but he himself can't see it yet." Senji explained before running a hand down his face tiredly.

"Manpower." Gajeel said with a nod.

"Bingo. And what worries me is the prom they're having tonight. The six will obviously make a move and, knowing Natsu, the bastard will definitely try to be the 'security' of the place." He voiced his thoughts aloud as he supported his head with one arm, placing his chin in his open palm and huffing roughly, "I swear to God, that kid's going to get himself killed."

The shopkeeper hummed before scratching the back of his head, "That must be why black and yellow have been gathering people."

"And you're going to help Natsu with that." Senji declared, causing Gajeel's eyes to narrow at the policeman.

"You do realize that I'd be going into a deathtrap if I did, right?" He asked, causing Senji to nod. Gajeel could only sigh and shake his head at the nonchalant demeanor his foster brother was displaying, "And besides, can't you get the police to handle that shit?"

"Nope." Senji said with a shake of his head, "Natsu _begged_ me to not interfere with anything concerning the six. He wanted to handle that himself."

"Then why the hell are you asking me to help him?"

"I ain't asking you, I'm telling you." The man said, sighing when he realized that Gajeel wasn't intending to back down that easily, "Look, I can't be there, neither can my men, but that doesn't mean Natsu has to do that stuff alone. I can ask you, someone who has nothing to do with the police, to help him out. That way, he stays alive. Sure, you both will probably get a few broken bones out of this, but that isn't anything you haven't had before, right?"

Gajeel facepalmed, "Your logic is so…" He groaned over dramatically, "Fine, I'll help the fucker out. But, I swear to whatever holy or unholy entity that's out there watching and laughing at our stupidity, you will owe me big time after this is over."

Senji chuckled as he leaned up from the counter and walked towards the exit of the store, "Whatever you say little brother." He gave him one last glance as he opened the exit's door, "Oh, and I'll be gone for a few days starting… now. Got stuff to deal with back in Crocus."

"Whatever, get the hell outta here." Gajeel growled while waving his fist, causing the policeman to laugh loudly at his expense before he left.

The black haired man leaned back and sighed tiredly at his older brother's antics. It was just like him to take care of Natsu like that and it was just like him to drag his little brother into it as well. No, it wasn't only Senji who was going to owe him but that pink haired bastard as well. Seriously, after this was over, Natsu was going to become his personal maid.

Gajeel almost choked at the image of Natsu in a maid's outfit, '_Fucking hell that's disgusting.' _He thought with a sweatdrop, wondering how the hell he could even consider that. Well, it would be fun for shits and giggles but, other than that, it was pretty disgusting.

* * *

"No, please! No more!" A man, battered and bruised, shouted desperately while lying on the ground, a tear escaping his eyes.

"No more what, huh?!" Zancrow shouted before kicking the lying man in the stomach, causing him to cough roughly.

"I'm sorry for what I said!" He coughed out again, trying to catch his breath and failing miserably.

"Shut the hell up you pathetic sack of shit!" The blond growled again before kicking him in the face, "You scared-ass bastard! The police, huh?! I can be much worse than those green fucks!"

A red haired teen sighed tiredly. He was leaning back against a wall as he watched disapprovingly as Zancrow beat the poor guy senseless. Cobra knew this would happen; he just knew that someone would be against attacking Fairy Tail High and that would make Zancrow go ballistic.

Typical.

"Cobra." A black haired man caught the redhead's attention, causing him to look to the side where he saw deep red eyes staring in his direction.

"Zee." He nodded in his direction while Zee came to stand next to him and leaned on the same wall. He took out a pack of cigarettes before placing one in his mouth and offering a cigarette to the redhead which he accepted.

"What's wrong? You seem distant." The black haired man questioned as he took out a lighter and lit both his and his friend's cigarettes.

The redhead inhaled from his cigarette deeply before sighing roughly, "Look, I'll give it to you straight." He said before taking the cigarette in between his fingers and glancing at Zee from the corner of his eye, "Is attacking FTH really worth it? I mean, since when have we become a prissy gang that crashes proms?"

Zee chuckled humorlessly at the words before inhaling from his cigarette as well, "You're worried about Natsu, aren't you?"

Cobra rolled his eyes at the question, "Natsu? No, I don't care what happens to him." He said or, rather, lied. Natsu was the main reason why he didn't want to attack the school. He was afraid; he was honestly afraid that the pinkette would get another injury, one so serious that he wouldn't be able to recover this time. He didn't want to see his brother figure in shambles again.

"Then what are you worried about?" Zee voiced, causing Cobra to shrug.

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel right."

The brunette sighed, "Look, Cobra, even if you don't like this it's the only way for Natsu to change back to what he previously was. This is the only way for us to go back to those times."

'_Yeah, no. Not after what you pulled._' The redhead thought while snarling mentally, wishing he could voice out his thoughts but preferring not to get into an argument with Zee and end up being beaten senseless. It wasn't like he was scared of him, hell no; it was because Cobra figured that Natsu might need his help later on.

The blond haired man from before caught his attention when he and Midnight walked up to them, "How many do we have?" Zee asked as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"We have around a hundred. Should be enough." Midnight said with a shrug.

"How's Sting and Rogue?" The black haired man questioned again, the black-white haired man only shrugging as a response.

"Ask them yourself." He simply stated before pointing behind himself with his thumb. Behind them stood two men; one of them had pitch black hair that covered the right side of his face and his bright red eyes which almost looked like they were slit. Rogue Cheney. The other looked like he was completely different. He had rather flashy spiky blond hair and blue eyes which looked similar to Rogue's in their slit shape. Sting Eucliffe. These two were the current heads of Grimoire High.

"Eh? You need us for something?" The blond asked with a curious glance towards the four.

"I asked if you two are ready to beat the crap out of the fairies." Zee asked, a grin making its way to his features.

The words caused the blond to sport a similar grin while Rogue only closed his eyes and smirked, "Hell yeah."

"Sting, one thing; Natsu is mine." Zee said simply, resulting in a tired and what seemed to be a disappointed sigh from the blond haired man.

"Yeah, I know."

Zancrow laughed loudly at Sting's reaction, "Don't worry kid, you'll get your shot at him eventually."

"When are we moving?" Midnight inquired as he lit his own cigarette, catching the attention of the five standing near him.

Zee's grin widened, "Now." He said, causing the others, minus Cobra, to grin as well.

Cobra watched the five other members of the six as they all started walking towards the exit of the building they were currently occupying, feeling disgusted by the fact that the old members of Natsu's six would grin at getting the chance to attack him. This just wasn't right. This wasn't what they were. They weren't scumbags who would attack their own family member.

Cobra narrowed his eyes at the backs of his supposed comrades before crushing his cigarette in between his own fingers in anger, '_If push comes to shove, you're mine, Zeref._'

"Cobra, you coming?" The black haired man in question asked as he turned around and watched the redhead with something akin to a sincere smile on his face, almost causing a snarl to morph Cobra's expression.

"Yeah, I'm coming."


	23. Seeking Answers

_**A/N: **Dear readers, I have a proposition. Since I am going out of my way and am kicking my own ass to make myself write faster, why don't you help me out with a review or two? I mean, I'm grateful to the people who review, really, but getting only five reviews when I have almost 80 favs/followers is almost funny. No, seriously, a simple review can go a long way, I ain't even joking._

_I'm whining about reviews too much, aren't I? Oh well._

* * *

_**Fairy Tail High**_

* * *

_**Chapter twenty-three: Seeking Answers**_

* * *

Natsu stood in the Fairy Tail high school's gym area, watching in slight amazement at how changed the place was. It had been decorated with various paper decorations the first years made specially for the third years, various handmade lamps decorated the ceiling, lighting it in a damp yet still bright light, causing most of the gym area to be darkened but not to a pitch black degree. Round tables with table cloth covering them were set out at the sides of the gym, as well as a clearing in the middle, an obvious dance floor. Students were working on the stage, tuning the guitars and placing the drum set and the microphones on stage, getting ready to welcome the band that had been hired to play.

'_Damn, I can't believe they got Rookiez to play for prom. That's friggin' crazy._' The pinkette thought with a slight smile as he watched the students fixing up the stage either laughing or playing some random tune. Natsu was wearing a black dress jacket which was unbuttoned to reveal an untidy white shirt that was loose at the bottom and the first two top buttons were left unbuttoned. He wore black dress pants that were held by a leather belt with a simple silver buckle and on his feet were simple black dress shoes. He tried dressing for the occasion; he really did, although he saw no need to wear a tie because he hated the thing.

Natsu yawned before shoving his hands in his pants' pockets and leaning back onto a table, feeling quite bored. A singular person caught his attention when the individual entered the gym area and scanned the place. He locked eyes with the pinkette before sighing and walking in his direction.

"Gajeel? What the hell are you doing here?" The pink haired teen questioned curiously while staring at the nearing black haired man in surprise.

"Shut up. I was made to, alright? Damn you and Senji, damn you both. You're going to owe me for this." He growled out while fixing his shirt's collar. He wore an outfit similar to Natsu's; a black blazer under which was an untidily kept shirt, black dress pants and black dress shoes. His long black spiky hair was being held by a headband draped loosely on his forehead, causing two bangs to escape and frame his face while the rest of his hair was neatly slicked back with a few occasional strands sticking out, still leaving the hair's spikiness intact.

"…What?" Natsu asked in pure confusion, not really understanding what the brunette meant by dragging Senji into this.

Gajeel groaned in annoyance, "Look. Senji asked me to help you so you don't get busted up beyond recognition again. It's obvious that _they_ are moving tonight."

The pink haired teen narrowed his eyes at the newly arrival, "I asked Senji not to interfere." He stated.

"No, you asked the police not to interfere. You didn't tell that bastard that he shouldn't drag his brother into this, which you should have, you ass." The brunette growled again, causing Natsu to roll his eyes.

"Look, you can always leave. I ain't holding you here."

"I would that I could. I'd never hear the end of it if I did." Gajeel said and both he and Natsu sighed in exasperation, wondering how they even got into this situation in the first place.

The black haired man shoved his hands in his pockets before turning around and watching as various people started gathering in the gym. Natsu glanced at the watch on his left hand; twenty minutes left. He shoved the hand back in his pocket and continued to watch the people, occasionally nodding when someone he knew waved or nodded in his direction.

"I'll be right back." Gajeel said, catching Natsu's attention. The pinkette saw that the brunette's crimson eyes had locked with Cana's eyes. He couldn't lie, the dress she was wearing sure was a welcome sight.

Natsu grabbed the black haired man's arm before he had the chance to make his move, "Dude, that's not why we're here. Besides, you're crashing someone else's prom, have some decency."

Gajeel glared at the pinkette from the corner of his eye, "How is that… No, you know what, whatever." He said simply, causing the pink haired teen to sigh for what seemed like the umpteenth time in over five minutes.

The two stood idly for the next half an hour, watching with mild interest as the third years of the school slowly filled the place. The last preparations were made and a calm looping soundtrack was made to play. The lights in the gymnasium suddenly went out before a spotlight on stage lit itself up. Natsu's eyes widened at the sight of Erza standing alone on the stage, a sincere smile plastered on her lips. She wore a purple dress with multiple red rose engravings, two straps going around her neck, holding the dress in place while exposing an extremely fair amount of cleavage and she also wore matching heels, completing the outfit. The sight of the council president standing there in the damp light almost made Natsu's jaw go agape to the point where he felt a sting due to his old wound.

Natsu stared at Erza who held some sort of piece of paper in her hands and was looking around. She smiled when someone gave her a microphone and nodded thanks in the individual's direction before turning towards the entirety of FTH's third years, "Good evening." She said simply, resulting in loud applause from the students, causing a faintly visible blush to cover the redhead's cheeks.

She stayed silent for a few moments, almost as if feeling mesmerized by the many eyes that were locked on her. Her smile only widened before she brought the microphone to her lips again, "And thank you!" She said loudly, "It has been an extreme pleasure to be the school's council president up until now. Every single one of you is amazing and it was, and still is a great honor to be the one you chose to take the responsibilities of being your president. I know we've had our ups and downs but I hope I can continue helping you until our last year in this school is over." She paused for a few moments before breathing in deeply and smiling sincerely at the people who were listening, "Have a great night and hit your studies afterwards!" She finished and afterwards loud shouts and applauds followed as everyone clapped at the simple yet sincere speech. Multiple people climbed up the stage to give the red haired girl flowers and the like, causing Natsu to huff slightly while still keeping his own smile.

'_So you weren't hated that much after all, Erza._' Natsu thought as he remembered all the times Erza thought that the student body hated her for her strictness and natural cold nature. Seemed like that was far from the truth; damned tsundere students.

"So without further ado, I present to you our entertainment for tonight: ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D!" The council president declared, resulting in massive roars of approval from the audience before the members of the band finally showed themselves, waving and all. The lead singer came up to the redhead and gave her a single red rose and a kiss on the cheek, causing Natsu's brow to twitch slightly, although it went unnoticed by the pinkette himself.

"Yo Fairy Tail! We hope you have a great prom! The first song is called… Complications!" The vocalist shouted into the microphone, causing another roar from the audience to reverberate through the large gymnasium.

Natsu watched as Erza made her way off stage, their eyes locking momentarily, causing the pinkette to clutch at his side. Unbeknownst to him, something struck a chord with the pink haired teen and he started feeling guilty for the way he had been treating her these past months. His only defense was that he couldn't have done anything else to protect her, but he knew that was a lie. There were many ways to protect her, but distancing himself from her was the easiest. No, who was he kidding; what he was doing now was probably the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, but his stupid brain couldn't come up with a better solution.

"Call me if something happens, I need a smoke." Natsu told Gajeel, causing him to nod in understanding. The brunette wasn't stupid; he knew that the sight of Erza must have made him feel guilty and whatnot and he figured that the teen needed some space. He watched as Natsu turned around and made his way towards the exit of the gym.

_The sky looks anxious as it threatens to cry  
It simply carves away time, having nothing else to do  
I swallow these thoughts that have nowhere to go  
And I spit out in frustration_

_Worrying that everything might break_  
_I fear tomorrow_  
_But I know that I won't find any answers_  
_By looking at the day after tomorrow_

The pink haired teen let out a rigid huff when he heard the first part of the song before he closed the gym's door behind him. He fastened his pace and marched forward down the school's corridor until he finally reached the men's changing room. He went in and opened a nearby window before searching for something in his jacket's inner pocket. He took a pack of cigarettes and placed one against his mouth before quickly lighting it and almost instantly inhaling, as if he had been dying for a smoke for a long, long time. He sighed in content before plopping down on a nearby bench and leaning back onto a wall, immersing himself in the music that could still be faintly heard reverberating through the whole school.

He bobbed his head slowly to the rhythm of the song that played, feeling pissed off at himself for all the mistakes he did in his life. First with Lisanna, now with Erza… it seemed as if every step he took was a wrong one and that there was no way to fix things no matter how hard he tried. Natsu was literally feeling like he had dug a hole for himself from which he could never again emerge. No matter how he had felt before, he hid those emotions within himself, always showing an apathetic front to things his mind would refuse to react to. This time though all those pent up emotions started to resurface and the pinkette felt as though his heart was killing him from the inside out.

He let the cigarette in his mouth smolder seamlessly, too dug into his own thoughts to notice or give a damn about anything. That is until he heard a sweet and all too familiar voice reach out to and grab a hold of him in the darkest depths of his subconscious.

"Natsu." He heard that voice, that voice which couldn't allow him to sleep at night after everything he did to her. His dark eyes widened at the realization that Erza had entered the dressing room, her brown eyes gazing upon him with both worry and sadness.

The pink haired teen couldn't help but feel an ever sharper feeling sting his heart. Just seeing her hurt expression literally made Natsu want to rip his own throat to pieces right then and there. His shoulders slumped down as he slid down the wall, almost causing himself to slip from the bench and hit the cold concrete below. His hair darkened his eyes as he exhaled a puff of smoke from his already finished cigarette. He could feel it burning his lips, but he didn't mind it; no, it was more like he didn't care. This burning sensation felt mild to the one he felt inside, mild to the point where he couldn't even feel it even if he tried.

Natsu heard footsteps tapping against the cold floor and he could feel Erza getting closer and closer to him, '_No… don't.. I…_' He thought desperately, trying to wrestle out of the state he was in, giving it his best to muster what mental strength was left in him to not show the girl he fell for all the pent up feelings inside of him.

The teen's eyes widened when he felt the cigarette being taken out of his mouth. He glanced down and saw Erza crouching down a few inches away from him, flashing him a sincere smile while she put out the cigarette and threw it out the open window. He noticed that her fingers got slightly burned and couldn't help but feel the hard feeling that was pushing him down suddenly intensifying. He leaned forward, supporting his body with his arms on his thighs and he let his head slump down in defeat.

"I… I tried, Erza, I really did… It's just… This…" He barely stuttered out, feeling his throat dry with each and every word he ushered, "This is just too damn hard." He managed to cough out. All the times he tried to shun her to keep her safe, it had all taken its toll on him. He couldn't do it anymore; he just couldn't.

The two of them stayed quiet for a few moments, allowing each other to once again listen to the loud yet calm music and giving it the right to overtake them. Then, something Natsu never expected happened; he felt a hand touch his cheek, causing his eyes to widen immeasurably. Soon after, he felt a weight on his forehead and forced himself to glance at Erza who had pushed her forehead against his. The sight of her closed eyes and her smile was too much for him to bear and he felt all of his emotions overflow and spill out in one gust, finally giving himself the right to shed tears, tears which now freely fell down his cheeks.

Erza suddenly leaned forward with spread arms, embracing the pinkette lovingly and closing the distance between them. Natsu couldn't muster the strength to fight back anymore, he allowed himself to feel her warmth yet again as he buried his head in her neck, allowing himself to cry wholeheartedly while all the redhead did was smile while accepting him and helping him deal with everything troubling him. They immersed in the feeling of finally being close to each other and stayed in silence, not feeling the need for a single word to be said between the two as the beating of their hearts was the only thing they needed to hear. Even the music had been muffled out as it seemed that the thing connecting them was currently stronger than anything possible in the known universe.

The two finally separated and gazed at each other's eyes. Erza's smile was still plastered on her delicate features as she stared at Natsu's tear-filled bloodshot orbs, "Hi." She said plainly, causing the pinkette to chuckle rather humorlessly.

"Yo… is what I suppose I should say." He replied while turning away, still feeling the small glint of regret and resentment towards himself in his heart. Erza slowly got up and sat on the bench next to Natsu, never once removing her eyes from his being.

"So… how have you been?" The girl asked, causing a laugh to escape Natsu's throat.

"As if that ain't obvious." He replied while glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, I'm trying to start a conversation here." The red haired girl said while glaring lightly at the pinkette, the glare only serving as a source of amusement to the aforementioned teen.

"Aye." He nodded before lighting another cigarette. He glanced at her once again and couldn't help but feel that something was amiss by the way she was staring at him, "It feels as though there's something you want to ask me."

She looked away, "Well, yes, there is, but…"

"Shoot." Natsu said, interrupting the redhead.

Erza sighed, finding that she was starting to feel quite uneasy about asking him this kind of question when he made it a point that he didn't want to talk about it, "I know it's not easy and that you don't want to talk about it, but… your past, Natsu. What happened with… her? With the girl you mentioned before? Lisanna?" She voiced out, her tone adamant, her eyes steeled at the pinkette.

The teen turned his head to glance at her unemotionally before leaning back on the wall and staring at the ceiling. He sighed tiredly, effectively expelling a puff of smoke at the same time. He shrugged, "I'm done hiding." He stated simply before taking the cigarette out of his mouth, "I guess you should know who I really am and then decide whether you can accept me… huh?" He questioned, although both of them knew that the question did not need an answer. Yet.

Natsu ruffled his own hair, trying to bring back the memories that he had locked away deep inside of his mind to keep them from resurfacing and haunting him. He sighed once again, feeling rather tired from simply sighing for over a hundred times in over an hour.

This was not going to be easy.

* * *

_**A/N#2: **So yeah... not yet. No past events yet. Yeah, I know I promised and I wanted to do that, but when a guest told me that they wanted a NaZa moment I realized that there were too little of those lately in a romance story and I added that instead. Don't worry though, I'll give you the name of the next chapter: "His Past." Yup, you'll get all the bloody details then. If stuff goes as planned, I'll update again by the end of the week or early next week._

_And yeah, I posted the English version of the song. Please don't sue me. And what I said before - do me a favor and drop a review, 'kay?_


	24. His Past (Pt 1)

_**A/N: **Yay, I finished high school. Ain't I just awesome? Refer to my profile's journal thing if you want to know why I didn't update or w/e.  
_

* * *

_**Fairy Tail High**_

* * *

_**Chapter twenty-four: His Past (Pt. 1)**_

* * *

Natsu and Erza sat in the boys' dressing room in relative silence, both of them waiting for the moment that the pinkette would start the story that started it all. The pink hired teen gulped, trying to figure out where he should start. He sighed as he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit a cigarette before hiding the pack back in his pocket. He exhaled a puff of smoke before glancing out the open window, letting his eyes bask in the light the moon emanated.

Natsu checked to his side and showed a barely visibly frown at the redhead's brown orbs which were watching – more like scrutinizing – him patiently yet expectantly, the feelings behind her gaze intensifying with each moment the pinkette decided to postpone his story. He rubbed the back of his head in annoyance, trying his best to figure out why he even promised to explain everything to her in the first place. The words he was about to usher were the ones he never wanted to speak again; they were the thing that started it all and they were something that Natsu was sure would make him go down memory lane. A harsh and painful memory lane.

Erza watched the man sitting next to her carefully, taking note of the way he was halting his explanation as best he could. His expression, his subtle movements, even the cigarette in his mouth and the way he roughly exhaled each breath he took; everything showed that this was the last thing the pinkette wanted to talk about, and she knew that. She knew it and it pained her to think that she would make Natsu go through his harsh past once again, but she couldn't wait any longer. She has been left in the dark for long enough and she wanted the enigma known as Natsu to open up, even if only barely.

The pink haired teen turned to the side once again and their eyes locked for a brief while, a while in which Natsu thought out the possible outcomes of what would happen when he finished his story. He sighed for what seemed to be the umpteenth time and he still tried to comprehend when he had become such a coward. Running away from anything wasn't something he would do, but this was different. These were the events that he had blocked out with every single wall he could possibly place up in his subconscious and removing them without thinking of the consequences was virtually impossible.

But this wouldn't be the first stupid idea he had and went through with, now would it?

He left the cigarette in between his lips before rubbing his temples with a rough huff, '_Alright, Natsu, it's high time you stop being a pussy and come clean._' He thought to himself before slowly breathing out a cloud of grey smoke.

Natsu shook his head as he put out what was left of his cigarette and lit a new one, finding that the poisonous nicotine was helping him calm down, even if by only a little. He waited for a brief moment before leaning back on the wall and watching the ceiling with an emotionless facade, "Okay then… Where should I start?"

* * *

_Around eleven years ago_

The rain poured down on Magnolia, a depressive and almost grey color taking over the scenery. Not a single soul was in sight on the town's streets, every of its inhabitants safely sheltering themselves at home away from the cold downpour which seemed to be almost submerging the city.

Save for a single seven year old boy spending his time in the park area of the city, sitting idly and quietly on the edge of an unmoving swing. His legs dangled in the air, proving the child to be too short to be able to reach the ground while being seated on the piece of attraction.

The young Natsu coughed quietly and an almost invisible shake ran through his young and frail body, a sign that the pinkette was definitely feeling cold, but the cold was not enough to wake him from his sad state; oh how he wished it was.

His tired black eyes watched the ground impassively, not finding any meaning in the current state of anything. His eyes looked almost dead and his face was devoid of emotion, or at least that was how it seemed. Deep down, a cauldron of emotions was boiling inside the pinkette, threatening to leak out at any given moment. His father leaving… even though that happened around a year ago, it was still hurting the young boy and he didn't even know if he was going to recover from it. Being his age, he didn't have any friends, no one to talk to or take care of him, save for the Fairy Tail High's principal who paid his bills and would come to visit sometimes.

Even if he was a kid, he knew that he was at his limit of being able to handle this loneliness. This wasn't something a kid should be subjected to.

"Oi." Natsu heard a young voice call out to him, causing his face to morph into one of surprise before he slowly turned his head upwards to notice a boy who was almost the same age as him watching him with somewhat apathetic dark blue eyes.

The pink haired boy stared at the other for a couple of minutes before his mouth opened to voice the only words he could think of at that moment.

"You're drenched."

"I don't want to hear that from you!" The brunette shouted back before a tick mark formed on his forehead and he smacked Natsu upside the head, causing him to fall out of the swing and hit the mud face first.

Natsu was taken aback by the action and had to take a few moments to grasp what the hell had just happened. He leaned back up and sat down on the ground, letting the cold rain wash away the dirt that had stuck to his cheeks. His onyx eyes glanced up at the dark haired boy curiously, waiting for whatever the other had to say.

"I'm Gray." He announced, although Natsu found it rather odd that someone would actually introduce themselves after hitting someone else on the head.

"Natsu." The pinkette stated simply and dryly before attempting to stand up. His attention was once again taken from his task to Gray who held his arm up to help the pink haired boy stand. Natsu quirked an eyebrow at the action before taking the hand and standing up, his expression morphing into one of pure confusion when Gray didn't let go of his hand.

"You're alone, right?" The brunette asked suddenly and bluntly, causing the rosy haired boy's eyes to go wide in pure shock, "I'm the same class as you and I noticed that you're always alone and you aren't trying to talk to anyone. I heard from my parents that your father left you too."

Natsu's face darkened slightly as his drenched hair covered his eyes, "So? What do you want from me?"

Gray shrugged, "Nothing, I just think you look pathetic the way you are now." He stated with a determined expression. Noticing that the pinkette couldn't come up with a response, the brunette continued, "Come on, let's get you to my place before both of us catch colds." He announced as he grabbed Natsu by the sleeve and dragged him down the path leading to town.

During the whole time they walked, Natsu continued to stare at the brunette with some form of shock. The pinkette really couldn't comprehend what was driving Gray to help a complete stranger. Sure, they were from the same class, something Natsu just now found out, but still; who in their right mind would help someone they've only 'known' for a few weeks at best?

"Why are you…?"

"Why am I what? Dragging you through half the town to my place?" He questioned before shrugging, "Dunno, you could call it me being sorry for you. Loneliness is painful, isn't it? I don't think anyone's supposed to go through that."

The few simple sentences Gray said took a few moments to register in the young pink haired boy's mind, but when they did he grinned from ear to ear stupidly, thinking that he finally found someone he could call a friend; someone who actually gave a shit about him feeling the way he did. Natsu freely followed the other boy to his home to get dry, maintaining some form of hope in his heart that he had finally found a friend.

* * *

_Three years later_

"Natsu… you sure this is okay? I mean, we will get into loads of trouble if we're caught, you know…?" Gray questioned with a slightly shaking voice as he watched Natsu put shards of something he assumed was a pencil into the lock of the door to math class.

"Oh come on, you and I both know Math is annoying. With this we'll just be able to skip saying the door was stuck or whatever." The ten year old pinkette replied with a slight grin on his features, his eyes narrowing slightly when one of the shards was slightly too large to fit in the lock, "Damn it." He muttered in annoyance as he tried to crush what was left of the pencil into even smaller pieces, "You just keep a look-out."

"Alright, fine." The brunette answered with a wave of his hand as he walked across the hallway to the flight of stairs going up to this floor. He chuckled inwardly; this might have not been the brightest idea Natsu ever had, but it sure as hell would be awesome if it worked. Math did suck, after all.

Ever since the two met at the playground three years ago, they have both realized that they have become the best of friends; hell, one could even call them brothers if they didn't take their looks into consideration. Gray never thought that a kid he found sitting in the playground in the rain sulking and whatnot would turn into becoming his best friend. He smiled slightly, glad that he did actually decide to talk to him back then. It wasn't in his nature to leave someone in the rain all depressed and the like, after all.

Suddenly, the brunette's attention was focused on the rather loud steps – more like earthquakes – he heard – or felt- emanating from downstairs. He could already tell the slightly overweight math teacher was coming their way.

Gray quickly but quietly ran towards Natsu before pulling on his shoulder, "Fatass at our six, we need to bolt. Now."

The pink haired boy instantly shuddered at the remembrance of the woman – chupacabra – and glanced at Gray while sporting a rather worried expression, noting that Gray was in a similar state. He quickly rammed what was left of the pencil into the lock and both of them made for the other flight of stairs at the opposite end of the hall.

"Natsu! Gray! Come back!" The two of them heard a rather husky woman's _roar_, causing both of them to groan silently yet they more or less chose to ignore the creature's mating call – yes, she was a friggin' pedophile – and decided it be better and healthier to skip school altogether.  
_  
_A few minutes of flying-book-dodging and running later, the two of them found themselves outside the school, panting like crazy, "I… I never thought burgerzilla could run that fast." Natsu commented in between pants while rubbing the sweat off of his forehead.

"Running? More like rolling. That scene changed my whole understanding of bowling." The brunette noted and the two of them couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation they were just in. Bowling pins had it easy compared to what they had gone through two seconds ago.

The two of them tried regaining their steady breathing for a couple of more minutes before Natsu stretched his back and moaned in satisfaction when he felt something pop, "Anyway, I guess we should head to the arcade or whatever seeing as how we'll have to skip school in general." He said with a slight grin, causing a rough sigh to escape Gray's throat.

"You know, my mom will kill me- no, both of us if we keep skipping school like this." The boy said, making Natsu cringe slightly at the remembrance of that woman's wrath.

"Okay, point taken, but we don't really have much of a choice now, do we?" The pink haired boy questioned and Gray simply shrugged as a response before the two of them made to the city's center in search of an arcade to crash.

While walking through the streets of Magnolia, Natsu couldn't help but note a crimson haired boy walking down Main Street. He remembered having seeing the kid multiple times before, always wearing the same rags for clothes and always looking bruised up, as if he had just been through multiple fights. The pinkette pulled his friend's sleeve and motioned for him to look at the redhead walking along the other side of the street.

"Hey, have you seen him before?" Natsu asked curiously, causing Gray to quirk an eyebrow.

"Now that you mention it… Yeah, I have, a few times before, actually. Why?"

"I… doesn't he look… like I did?" The pinkette noted and his friend couldn't help but sigh and nod in affirmation, "I'm going to go talk to him."

"What? No, don't." Gray voiced a negative while shaking his head, "He's from east, AKA Phantom."

"So? If I said I was from Phantom would you have brought me into your house three years ago?" Natsu asked while glaring at the brunette slightly, causing Gray to sigh yet again, figuring it best not to argue with Natsu in matters like these.

"Alright, fine." Gray said and both of them ran to the other side of the street while calling out to the red haired boy who was made to watch them in alarm. His small body seemed to stiffen at the two who approached him.

"Hey, what's your name?" Natsu asked simply and bluntly without noticing the change in the redhead's demeanor.

"Why? Are you here to beat me up too?"

That single question threw both Natsu and Gray off almost instantly. They scrutinized the red haired boy for a couple of moments, taking special interest in the many bruises that covered his body. They put two and two together and sighed inwardly; well ain't life a bitch.

"Wh-what… no!" Natsu said while shaking his head, taken aback by the question and astonished by the realization of what this kid was probably going through, "We just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the arcade with us… we need more than two people."

The suspicious gaze the red haired boy had directed at the two others changed into one of slight curiosity, although you'd have to be blind to not notice the obvious weariness in his black eyes.

The boy shook his head quickly, realizing that it best not to trust the two standing in front of him, "No, I don't have any money." He said with a slight note of disappointment while he turned away from the other boys and continued on his way.

Gray sighed and placed his hand on the young pinkette's shoulder, "Natsu, come on. It's obvious he doesn't…" The brunette was cut off when Natsu hastily pushed Gray's hand away and made for the redhead.

"Come on! I know the owners of the arcade, they'll let us play for free!" Natsu announced expectantly, causing the red haired boy to stop dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around with a slight smile on his features.

"Okay, fine." He said and Natsu couldn't help but grin widely at the declaration, "Cobra." The boy added.

"Huh?" The pink haired boy asked as he stared at the redhead with a confused expression.

"My name. You asked, remember?"

Natsu stared at him for a few moments before what Cobra said registered, "Oh!" He exclaimed before chuckling sheepishly, "I'm Natsu, he's Gray." The pinkette informed as he pointed at himself and then at Gray with his thumb. Cobra only nodded in return and the three made their way towards the city center.

During the walk to the arcade, Natsu and Gray were talking to each other while Cobra more or less remained silent all the way, sometimes being forced to reply to either of the two's question, sometimes simply ignoring the question if it touched something personal that the redhead really didn't want to talk about. All Natsu and Gray got from him is that he was someone with a rather difficult life and someone whose trust wasn't easily earned.

As they were in front of the arcade, Cobra stopped and cringed at the sight of three people who stood next to the entrance, seemingly looking like fourteen-year-olds. One of the three, a blond one, glanced at Cobra and an almost maniacal grin spread across his features.

"Cobra." He said with glee in his voice, causing Natsu and Gray to glance at the blond curiously as they walked past him, "You come back to have some more fun?" He asked and the two others who were with the blond glanced at red haired boy, similar grins spreading across their faces.

The three of them quickly surrounded the boy before one of them grabbed Cobra's arms from behind, keeping him from escaping, "You Phantom trash, how dare you show your face here!?" He yelled hysterically as he cocked his fist back and smashed it against the young Cobra's face.

The redhead spit out blood angrily, his body shivering slightly at the presence of the three who had made his life be a pain in the ass ever since he started visiting the western district of Magnolia. The boy was slightly afraid but he did his best to keep his defiant glare intact, not willing to subdue to this abuse.

"Fuck you!" The ten-year-old shouted angrily, causing the last of the three fourteen-year-olds who wasn't holding his arms to tsk angrily before he smashed his elbow against the redhead's cheek.

"When did we ever give you the right to speak you maggot?!"

"That's right, you don't get to speak." The blond growled in rage as he grabbed and pulled on Cobra's hair, causing the boy to hiss at the pain. The teen cocked his fist back and rammed it against the red haired boy's stomach, making him spit out blood yet again and gasp when the air was knocked out of him.

"You fucking asshole." The blond snarled again and was about to knock the redhead out with an elbow to Cobra's face but was interrupted when a small rock seemingly smashed against the back of his head, "Who the f-"

"Leave my friend alone!" Natsu's shout was heard when the blond turned around and his face met the pinkette's small fist, causing the teen to stagger back a few feet.

"Walk away pinky!" The blond shouted in barely restrained anger as he grabbed Natsu's collar and lifted the little boy up before cocking his fist back, ready to smash his face in.

The pinkette growled before spitting in the fourteen-year-old's face, "Hell no! Let go of Cobra!" Natsu shouted as he kicked the teen in the stomach and Gray appeared out of nowhere, pushing him away all the while.

"That's it." The blonde shouted in anger as he shook his head and regained his posture. He shoved his hand in his pocket before taking a pocket knife out of it and pointing it at Natsu.

Cobra stared at the whole predicament wide-eyed as a drop of blood flowed from his lower lip. He couldn't believe what Natsu had said and done. During his short existence, the redhead has never had anyone call him a friend, much less protect him from anyone, especially these three who made his daily life a living hell due to him living in Phantom.

"Natsu!" Cobra shouted and tried his best to free himself from the fourteen-year-old's grasp, finding it immensely easy to do so. Glancing behind himself, he saw the teen spit out blood as he fell to the ground unconscious, "What the…?"

The blond teen rushed at Natsu, his knife drawn, ready to stab him impulsively. Suddenly, he felt his body stop completely as someone seemed to grab his arm and stop him in his tracks. He glanced up and his eyes widened immensely at what he saw; a smoldering cigarette, pitch black spiky hair and dark eyes scrutinizing him angrily.

"Senji…" The blond muttered in shock as he tried to get his arm away from the brunette's grasp.

"Dan." Senji replied calmly, although the bit of anger in his voice was rather apparent. The black haired teen let go of Dan's arm and almost instantly kicked him in the face, sending him barreling to the side, hitting the arcade's wall, "I knew you were a pedophile, but I had no idea you were _that_ fucked up."

Senji walked up to the groaning Dan's side and kicked him in the stomach calmly, sending the blond flying to the opposite side of the building before he hit the ground with his head painfully. The sixteen-year-old walked up to the lying blond once again before crouching down to be at face-level with him.

"So, how's it feel like to get the shit kicked out of you by someone who's older and stronger than you?" He asked as he grabbed Dan's hair and smashed his head against the concrete, "Sucks, doesn't it? Not being able to do anything, I mean."

The sixteen-year old Senji sighed when he noticed Dan starting to cry like the little bitch that he was. The brunette pushed his knee against Dan's chest before taking the cigarette from his mouth and putting it out against Dan's forehead, effectively erecting a shriek of pain from the blond teen.

"Now." Senji began dangerously as he threw what was left of his cigarette away and glared holes at Dan, "If I _ever_ see you again you'll get more than a burn mark on your forehead, got it?" He questioned and the blond nodded frantically in return before Senji stood up and nodded, "Good. Now go collect your pieces of shit friends." He added as he pointed to the now two unconscious guys lying near Cobra.

Dan nodded his head once again and without ushering a single word ran towards his two friends while fighting back his tears. Senji huffed roughly as he walked to Natsu and smacked him upside the head, causing the pinkette to gasp.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"When someone who's obviously stronger than you pulls a knife – you run. I swear to God, the next time this happens _you_'ll get a scar on your forehead." The brunette said with a glare while Natsu cringed at the warning, remembering how Dan had screamed, "Anyway, come on, Gajeel, Zancrow and Midnight are waiting inside." Senji informed as he made for the arcade's entrance. He noticed the wary and confused Cobra staring at him, Gray and Natsu, "Oi, you come too. We need more people."

"E-eh?" The redhead gasped slightly at being addressed so suddenly, shivering when he felt the distaste of the metallic tasting liquid in his mouth.

"Yeah, you come too, Cobra!" Natsu shouted with a wide grin while motioning for Cobra to come with them to the arcade.

The red haired boy stared dumbfounded at the three for a while, not really sure what was happening. Eventually after everything that happened sunk in, the boy smiled from ear to ear and nodded eagerly before running to Gray and Natsu's side.

Senji watched the whole exchange while lighting another cigarette and he couldn't help but both roll his eyes and chuckle at the show.

"Kids."


End file.
